Report Indicates Connecticut iLottery Off To Rocky Start

Image showing online lottery gaming with lotto balls and a device along with the Connecticut state outline featuring the CT Lottery logo for a story about the Connecticut iLottery platform getting off to a slow start.

The Connecticut Lottery hit a few bumps in the road getting its online platform launched.

Now that it’s among the states with online lotteries, there are still some hurdles to overcome.

A recent report from CT Insider shows early iLottery sales coming up short of expectations in Connecticut.

Technical issues preventing user growth in Connecticut

The report from CT Insider quotes Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection’s gaming division director, Kristofer Gilman. He indicates the iLottery launch has not gone as hoped:

“They’re under-performing my expectations.”

According to the report, as of July 23, 8,526 patrons had begun the iLottery registration process, but only 4,059 had gone through verifying their accounts. Gillman noted that technical issues were preventing play, as well as keeping players from being able to verify their accounts:

“They haven’t made it terribly easy for customers to sign up for iLottery.”

CT online lottery sales well off pace through a month

Including the soft-launch weeks, total sales were at $627,888 as of July 23. There were also another $50,000 in promotional wagers placed.

Of the paid tickets, $318,876 in winnings were distributed, leaving just over $300,000 in revenue thus far for the Connecticut Lottery.

As of now, Connecticut only offers lottery draw games on its online platform.

The online lottery legislation indicates that the first $14 million in annual iLottery revenue will go toward funding Connecticut’s debt-free community college program. The remaining revenue will go to the state’s General Fund.

The early sales would leave Connecticut well shy of getting to $14 million in revenue for the year.

Art Mongillo, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, was quoted in the report expressing that the CLC is not worried:

“I don’t think there’s really a concern. We didn’t really begin actively marketing the iLottery product until the beginning of July, after we completed the soft launch, so I’d say where we are with current sales, we’ll be just fine for the first year.”

Long road to launch iLottery

Just getting iLottery launched in Connecticut was quite a journey.

Online sales were legalized in 2021, but technical issues forced the launch back for years.

An original target of the fall of 2023 was pushed into the summer of 2024 as the CT Lottery had to develop its system with vendor IGT.

The Connecticut online lottery had its soft launch begin on June 10. However, additional technical issues delayed the official launch until July 1.

Though some malfunctions existed during the soft launch and early stages of the full launch, Mongillo painted a better picture of the current status:

“Things are moving along pretty smoothly right now.”

Online problems now handled by Frank Suarez

The slow start and issues with the Connecticut online lottery will now be the concern of Frank Suarez.

The former Washington D.C. Lottery Executive Director officially takes over his new post as President and CEO of the CLC on Thursday.

Suarez should have good input on the situation. Washington D.C. is one of the locations in the US that offers iLottery.

On top of his experience in the nation’s capital, Suarez also spent seven years with the North Carolina Education Lottery. There, he helped develop some of the state’s current iLottery options.

 

Photo by vectorfusionart via Shutterstock
Graphic from the Connecticut Lottery

About the Author

Drew Ellis

Drew Ellis

Lead Writer
A member of Catena Media since 2020, Drew Ellis is the Lead Writer at PlayiLottery, where he handles coverage of the online lottery industry in the US. He previously spearheaded news content at PlayMichigan, where he covered one of the most prominent online lottery industries in the US — among the many other aspects of Michigan's sprawling iGaming market. You can email him at [email protected].
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