As Massachusetts legislators mull the idea of legalizing an online lottery, residents of the state have voiced their thoughts.
In a survey conducted by the MassInc Polling Group, 50% of residents are in favor of Massachusetts being added to the states with online lottery. Just 37% are opposed to legalization, and 13% are indifferent.
Breaking down the 50% in favor further, 17% said they “strongly favor” legalization, and 33% said they “somewhat favor” it.
Breaking down the 37% opposed further, 18% said they “strongly oppose” legalization, and 19% said they “somewhat oppose” it.
This is on the heels of the state House Ways and Means Committee rolling out a budget Wednesday for fiscal year 2025 that would include a legalized online lottery.
Support for Massachusetts iLottery balanced
The support for Massachusetts to legalize an online lottery for adults 18 years and up isn’t clearly leaning toward any demographic.
Of those surveyed, here’s the percentage in support:
- Males: 56%
- Females: 45%
- Republicans: 54%
- Democrats: 50%
- Independents: 49%
- Caucasian: 49%
- Non-White: 52%
- 18-29: 53%
- 30-44: 57%
- 45-59: 52%
- 60+: 40%
Nearly 70% of Massachusetts has played the lottery
The lottery appears to be the most popular form of gambling in Massachusetts based on the poll.
When asked, the following percent of those surveyed said “yes” to the gambling option listed below:
- Purchased a scratch or draw lottery ticket: 68%
- Purchased Mega Millions or Powerball ticket: 57%
- Placed a bet at a casino: 25%
- Placed a sports bet: 24%
- Played Keno: 22%
- Place a bet on a horse race: 7%
Though lottery play has the highest number of gamblers, the launch of online sports betting in Massachusetts has the lottery commission fearing that the new sportsbook platform is eating into revenue.
Its push for the legalization of iLottery is in hopes of making up for the year-over-year decline in retail sales.
Women trend higher for lottery purchases
The survey through MassInc Polling Group found that men tend to gamble more in most categories. That includes sports betting, casino gambling, Mega Millions, Powerball, and horse racing.
When it comes to purchasing scratch or lottery tickets, 69% of the women polled said they have. That’s compared to 66% of men.
Officials hope that the female lottery player will carry over to the online product.
In the online gambling world, mobile casinos have seen a higher rate of female players than online sports betting.
Photo by PlayiLottery
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