On May 26th, 2008, the Lotteries Commission has recently launched online lottery sales, saying that it will not affect problem gaming in New Zealand. Ticket buyers on the Internet will only be allowed to spend $300 a month, as part of a plan to stop gamblers on becoming gaming addicts.
New Zealanders are already spending $750 million annually on Lottery and Keno and now the New Zealand Lotteries will even give the opportunity to residents to spend more on the Lotteries' website. New Zealand Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay commented that a lot of their customers requested if they can offer the option to buy tickets online so they have tried their best to make it possible.
McLeay commented it will also be convenient for lottery and keno players that cannot go to an actual lottery and keno shop to buy the tickets. John Stansfield from the Problem Gaming Foundation commented that if you have gaming in a good and controlled environment instead of letting players play via an online casino.
Some lottery shops owners are wary that their business might suffer some significant drop in sales because of the online option in buying lottery and keno tickets but the New Zealand Lotteries commented that it only pose a minimal threat.
John Sullivan
[26-06]
