(TRENTON) – Assembly approved legislation Assembly Democrats John Burzichelli, Ralph Caputo and Vince Mazzeo sponsored to make it easier for New Jersey residents to obtain lottery tickets was approved Thursday by the Senate, giving it final legislative approval.
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.
“Many other goods – food, water, clothing and other items – are already delivered in order to make people’s lives easier,” said Caputo (D-Essex). “We have the means to add lottery tickets to that list, and it’s important to facilitate this convenience with guidelines that emphasize security and transparency.”
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.
“This is modernizing our lottery laws and finding more ways to increase revenue for the valuable programs our lottery funds, including programs for senior citizens,” said Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “It’s a common sense change for this day and age.”
The bill was approved by the Assembly in June and now goes to the governor.
