Online lottery could come to MA

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - You could soon be able to gamble in Massachusetts with just the click of a mouse. Lawmakers will look at a bill that would allow people to purchase tickets and play lottery games online.

Forget a trip to the store to buy your lottery ticket, the simple click of a mouse would be all you need if the state approves online lottery sales.

“I'm not saying I wouldn't try it, maybe I'd try it once. People are going to take their credit cards and they're going to be wasting their money on the lottery. It'd be a lot easier for them to gamble,” said Barbara Cebula of Chicopee.

But some people told 22news lottery is an over saturated market and there are already plenty of games to play.

“I think the lottery is just huge as it is. There's just a million scratch tickets. They have 9 or 10 different regular games. I'd prefer to see casinos built locally,” said Jeff Masse of Belchertown.

Owner of the Country Trading Post Carl Roy told 22News the economy has already taken a hit on their lottery sales.

“I don't think it'd be good for any store in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. I think it's just going to hurt our business and business isn't that great right now,” said Carl Roy, who owns the Country Trading Post.

While local businesses lose, the state overall could gain. In fiscal 2012, the Massachusetts State Lottery distributed more than 880 million dollars in direct local aid to the state's 351 cities and towns.

The bill would require the state lottery commission to determine a way to prevent people under 18 from buying the tickets or playing the games, and also enforce that only Massachusetts residents participated.