New Way To Buy Lottery Tickets In Massachusetts: Debit Cards

December 21, 2011 9:19 AM

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Heard On WBZ NewsRadio 1030, Local, News, Syndicated Local, Watch + Listen

BOSTON (CBS) – Early next month you’ll finally be able to buy Massachusetts Lottery tickets with a debit card.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Carl Stevens reports

State Treasurer Steve Grossman says it about time.

“The debit card is cash. It’s the same thing as cash. It’s a cash equivalent. This is the 21st century, most people carry around the debit card, instead of a lot of cash and we want to make it easy for our customers to do business with us,” he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday.

“We thought we should join 33 other states in the U.S. that currently allow debit cards to be used and it seems to be only just a common sense idea that in the wake of people’s changes in lifestyle, let them use their plastic cash instead of their paper cash.”

Grossman wants to get this started early in January, as soon as all the lottery agents get up to speed with the debit cards.

New Way To Buy Lottery Tickets In Massachusetts: Debit Cards

sean

Will there be a minimum purchase required? I go to lots of convenience stores now that say minimum $10 purchase with debit cards.
Frank Davis

“Gambling is bad! People who really can’t afford to play at casinos will be going there.”
We’ve heard for years arguments on why there shouldn’t be casinos in the state but the state runs the biggest gambling business here – the Lottery. Now they want it to be easier for people to buy tickets to GAMBLE in their best money maker. The lawmakers & people who run the Lottery are the biggest hypocrites to work the public sector. It’s bad enough I have to stand in line behind people who are taking their “benefits” to buy tickets like a little kid at the old penny candy store but now they’ll be able to get the money via debit? Bring in those casinos and I might be able to get to work faster.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/12/22/business-headlines-tripadvisor-shares-sink-lottery-debit-cards/ Business Headlines: TripAdvisor Shares Sink; Lottery Debit Cards « CBS Boston

[...] The state lottery is going to start accepting debit card payments for lottery tickets. [...]