Connecticut has begun a soft launch of its iLottery platform.
Through a partnership with IGT, the Connecticut online lottery has been available for limited hours this week.
The soft launch of the product will lead to a full official launch, which is expected at the end of the week.
Players can download the mobile app on iOS currently, while an Android version will be available in July. Online play is also offered on the desktop through the Connecticut Lottery website. All of this means it will soon officially join the list of states with online lotteries.
Connecticut Lottery CEO Greg Smith is happy to have it finally available to his residents. At Thursday’s board meeting, he said:
“We like the way it looks and we like the way it works.”
Full Connecticut iLottery release arriving by Sunday
Connecticut and IGT originally announced a partnership for an online lottery years ago, with anticipation for a fall 2023 launch.
After IGT spent months getting regulated, the state finally had its iLottery soft launch on Monday at noon.
On both Monday and Tuesday, players had access to the online product through the mobile app and desktop from noon to 6 p.m.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the online lottery app was available from 1:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
During Thursday’s Connecticut Lottery Corporation Board of Directors meeting, it was stated that online play hours would be from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. each day beginning on Friday.
Technically, Connecticut will still be in its soft launch phase on Friday and likely Saturday. However, the state expects to be given the green light for its official debut by Sunday.
Once fully launched, the iLottery hours will remain from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Wednesday sees over $4,000 in online sales in CT
Not much data has been collected yet when it comes to online lottery sales in Connecticut.
However, the board of directors did have some details when it came to Wednesday’s soft launch sales period.
It reported that over $4,000 in sales were made online during the 1:30 p.m.-11 p.m. timeframe.
Along with that, more than 1,200 individual wagers were made, with over 350 people downloading the Connecticut Lottery app during that period, as well.
What games are available for Connecticut online lottery?
Connecticut will be featuring just lottery draw games currently with its online product.
Residents will have the option to purchase tickets for the following games:
- Keno
- Mega Millions
- Powerball
- Lotto!
- Lucky for Life
- Cash5
- Play3 with Wild Ball
- Play4 with Wild Ball
Fast play and instant win games are not available as of now in the state.
Photo by Dana.S via Shutterstock
Graphic from the Connecticut Lottery