Iowa Lottery boss says online lotteries “socially acceptable:’ Minnesota online lottery has three weeks to live

The CEO of the Iowa Lottery says the business faces a lot of red ink unless it starts selling tickets online.

Iowa Lottery boss Terry Rich appeared before the state’s House Government Oversight Committee on Thursday to discuss the Lottery’s future. Rich told legislators that the 2011 Department of Justice opinion indicated that the Lottery had the authority to conduct “internet gaming.” However, Rich assured legislators that the Lottery wouldn’t proceed “without having discussions with you, working with the other gaming entities.”

Rich warned that the Lottery faced a bleak future unless it adapted to “player expectations for convenience and use of technology.” Rich noted that the Lottery had no hope of engaging with millennials unless it embraced mobile technology. Rich also believes that it’s only a “matter of time” before online lotteries become “socially acceptable.”

Earlier this month, Rich, who also serves at president of the North American Lottery Association, told Stateline.org that lotteries “don’t want to be the post office. Gaming, and especially the lottery, is one of the last things you can’t do on your mobile phone.”