Powerball Says No to Washington State

Posted on June 17th, 2009

Washington state residents that had hoped to be able to purchase Powerball tickets in their home state had their hopes dashed as the multi state consortium that manages the Powerball lottery blackballed Washington. The 30-state consortium ruled that states that currently participate in the Mega Millions lottery cannot sell Powerball tickets. Washington currently participates in the multi state Mega Millions lottery.

Chris Liu, director of Washington’s lottery, expressed surprise since Powerball lottery officials discussed allowing states to sell both Powerball and Mega Millions tickets earlier in the year. Liu stated, “They actually approached us with this idea, and we thought it was a good idea to cross-license each other’s game.” In May members of the Powerball lottery voted 12-18 against licensing Powerball in Mega Millions states.
In April the Washington legislature had voted to allow the state to sell both Powerball and
Mega Millions tickets. The sale of Powerball tickets was expected to generate $11.5 million for Washington. The Washington lottery had hoped Powerball tickets would be on sale this fall but those hopes were dashed by the decision of the Powerball consortium. At present Washington residents must travel to Oregon and Idaho to purchase Powerball tickets.
Other states will also be affected by the decision of Powerball officials. New York and Massachusetts had taken steps to allow the sale of Powerball tickets. The New York legislature had already given its approval and in Massachusetts approval is pending. News agencies trying to reach Powerball officials have so far been unsuccessful.

Since the original article was written many states now allow the cross sales of both Powerball and Mega Millions. By 2010 most states with lotteries hope to sell tickets for both lotteries and there is even talk of a national lottery similar to the UK National Lottery. During the ongoing recession many states are strapped for cash for various programs and state services. States hope to boost lottery generated revenues by offering both mega jackpot multi state lotteries. States offering both lotteries have reported a significant increase in lottery ticket sales.

Many states are also considering the possibility of offering players the ability to buy online lottery tickets. European lotteries have offered online lottery tickets with great success. Lottery players can buy online lottery tickets and also check for the latest winning numbers on lottery websites. Players like the convenience and ease that online ticket sales offer. Players can log in from their home computer or mobile device and buy lotto tickets online. Hopefully US lotteries will adopt new technologies to facilitate the sale of online lottery tickets.