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Mass. Lottery Struggling During Coronavirus Pandemic

BOSTON (CBS) - The coronavirus pandemic has cost the state millions of dollars in lost lottery money. Ticket sales in April were down more than $128 million when compared to the year before. That is $22.5 million in lost profit for the state.

Mass. Lottery Executive Director Michael Sweeney said right now, customers prefer not to use cash to buy anything. There is currently no online option for the Massachusetts Lottery.

"It's only good business. It's the only logical business model to follow in this world and the pandemic really exposed those businesses and government agencies that were not yet quite ready for this new digital world," Sweeney said.

States that have online lotteries in place saw an increase in sales.

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