The Oklahoma Lottery Commission (OLC) is looking at creating a digital platform for its customers to purchase tickets online according to multiple media reports.
USA Today reports that the Commission has filed a request to create a digital platform, hoping to better engage players and offer a better service to its customers.
Of the 45 US states and three territories that operate a lottery, 16 states maintain an online lottery. The OLC now wants to join this list.
“This is a transformational step for the Oklahoma Lottery,” Abby Morgan, the commission’s director of marketing and product development, said in a statement.
“We’re focused on creating a best-in-class digital experience that benefits our players today while preparing for the possibilities of tomorrow.”
Morgan was also quoted as saying that the OLC is keen on “modernising how we connect with our players and operate as a business”. This is a sentiment that has been noted by many other lottery stakeholders.
Speaking at the SBC Summit Americas last month, Matt Stemkoski, Primary Executive Official at the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, projected that iLottery will expand in the US in the coming years.
There will have to be a balance between online lottery activities and lottery couriers, however, and there is still the chance that the two could compete against each other.
The absence of online lottery activities across many states has posed a gap in the market for couriers like Jackpocket, Jackpot.com, Lotto.com and TheLotter, which provide a digital means for customers to purchase a physical ticket.
The activity of these couriers has not been entirely uncontroversial however, with Texas legislators in particular concerned about the impact these apps may have on lottery integrity.
By launching a digital platform, the Oklahoma Lottery may be setting itself up to compete against couriers.
At the SBC Summit Americas, Stemkoski said: “I think iLottery and courier will expand faster, just by nature of free market enterprise but I think this is an important topic in that lottery and couriers can operate together.”