New Hampshire Online Lottery Will Boost iGaming Sales

New Hampshire (NH) has become the sixth US state to offer online lottery sales. This was a strategic move by legislators to boost the online gambling industry and also bring in a new stream of revenue to the state coffers. However, there are a few concerns over the business model adopted by the iLottery.

To be able to play online, customers need to create an iLottery account and deposit money which they could use to buy tickets either for Mega Millions & Powerball which are periodic drawings, or instant-winning tickets called “e-Instant” games.

Under e-Instant games, players have eight options, just like the scratch tickets sold at stores. Players can check out the demo for each game so they can have an idea of how it’s played. While playing, they can keep track of how much they’re spending for the game as well as the amount of money available in their account.

The iLottery is going to be a threat for retail outlets as customers no longer need to head over to retail outlets. They can sit and play the lottery from the comfort of their homes and this will pose a serious threat to the traditional lottery outlets.

iLottery Games Could Be Addictive

The N.H. Lottery has sold a record $331.8 million in tickets for the year ending June 30 with $238.3 million of that sales accounting for scratch tickets. This clearly reflects N.H Lottery’s effective marketing strategies which have also extended to partnerships with professional sports teams.

The iLottery games are easy to play but they don’t come without a price: they could become addictive and customers could be enticed to play as long as there’s still money left in their account, though the site provides a link offering help and support for problem gamblers.

The state is clearly aiming to drive its gambling revenues by introducing the iLottery product, but efforts must be stepped up to counter or prevent the potential harm it may cause to vulnerable players. The iLottery site should display a link or button for those going through addiction issues, as should be the case for every lottery page in the country.

Gambling activists in New Hampshire want the problem gambling button to be prominently displayed on the homepage so that players can see it first before clicking anything else on the page. It remains to be seen if these changes are made to the iLottery website.