This week Illinois became the first state to put its lottery games online. Now the state Senate has voted to expand the offerings.
The measure approved Thursday would add Powerball to the lotto games available on line. Opponents say that's an expansion of gambling; a notion Senate President John Cullerton rejects: “The idea is a great number of people spend a small amount of money for the chance to win a lot of money. The average purchase of a Mega Millions ticket is $5. Not something like risking your mortgage. And so to say it's an expansion of gambling, I think is a little bit of a, of a reach.”
Gas station and convenience store owners are worried they'll sell fewer tickets as more customers play the Lottery from their home computers. The measure calls for a study on how retailers are affected by the online sales. It could pave the way for stores to sell cards that could be used to buy online tickets.
Proceeds from Illinois' Lottery sales fund schools and construction projects.
