Legislation sponsored by Assemblymen John Burzichelli, Ralph Caputo and Vince Mazzeo to make it easier for New Jersey residents to obtain lottery tickets was approved 54-20-4 by the full Assembly last week.
The bill (A-4018) would require the New Jersey Lottery Commission to authorize the operation of lottery courier services, allowing delivery companies to bring lottery tickets directly to customers. Courier services would be required to register with, and receive authorization from, the State Lottery Commission prior to delivering tickets.
“Ticket delivery will make lottery products more accessible for players who are homebound or find it inconvenient to get to a retailer,” said Burzichelli (D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem). “This bill is aimed at saving players time and broadening a customer base that provides revenue for services that benefit all New Jersey residents.”
Under the bill, a courier service may charge a delivery fee, but may not collect any portion of any prize redeemed from a delivered ticket. A courier service may, however, redeem winning tickets on behalf of its clients within Lottery Commission purview. Furthermore, a courier service interested in storing a purchased lottery ticket in lieu of delivering it would have to maintain a secure database of all tickets, which would be subject to random Lottery Commission audits.
“Just about anything you can think of is available through delivery these days to make people’s lives easier,” said Caputo (D-Essex). “By extending this convenience to lottery tickets in a way that emphasizes security and transparency, we can also increase revenue for important statewide programs and services.”
“This is both a revenue raiser and a job creator that will help broaden the reach of the lottery to those who might otherwise not have the means to participate,” said Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “Ultimately this will boost funding support for many worthwhile state programs.”
The provisions of the measure state that courier services would not be permitted to obtain lottery sales agent licenses and that operating a courier service would not constitute gambling or the sale of lottery tickets.
The measure now awaits consideration by the Senate.