The New Jersey Lottery has moved to amplify convenience for its customers by enabling lottery winners to receive certain payments via their mobile phones.
Players cashing in New Jersey lottery tickets can now do so via mobile as long as the prize is greater than $600 and less than $10,000, as the expansion of digital lottery services in the US continues.
The lottery has also reminded players that other means of collecting winnings – filling out a form with lottery retailers, downloading and printing a claim form from the lottery website, and dropping off claim forms and winning tickets at its office at Brunswick Avenue Circle in Lawrence – are still available.
“This is just another step in our ongoing efforts to connect with players in their daily routines,” said New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey.
“It is crucial that we help players easily incorporate Lottery claims into their busy lives. An overwhelming majority of our players are on their phones.
“It is imperative that we provide them with a seamless digital experience. This will be similar to how we deposit checks into our banking accounts using our mobile devices.”
The New Jersey Lottery is quite an active one when it comes to changing its platform and updating its regulations, having done so on various occasions this year.
The addition of online claims to its platform continues a trend seen in the US which is a shift towards digital lottery services, with state lotteries having functioned on a primarily retail basis for many years.
Recent years have seen the rise of digital lottery courier services, which provide a digital means for consumers to purchase retail tickets, which are then picked up on a buyer’s behalf in the event of a win.
It is noteworthy that New Jersey is one of only two states with a licensing regime for couriers, the other being neighbouring New York. By allowing digital collection of prizes, the lottery seems to be stepping further into the territory of couriers.