IPhone app may push New York Powerball lottery jackpot to new record

“So I remember growing up being embarrassed because we were late for practice due to the fact that he had to go play his numbers”, Sullivan said. So, if you live in New York and are over the age of 18, you can play. This is the same procedure that applies to tickets purchased directly by consumers the old fashioned way -smaller prizes can be collected by winners at any official New York Lottery ticket sales location.

Users can buy tickets on the app for several New York Lottery games, including Mega Millions, Lotto and the multi-state Powerball game.

The app is expected to be available nationwide.

Sullivan has been working on developing the application for more than two years, and it launched Monday.

Additionally, the app makes losing a ticket impossible. The ticket is then scanned and secured, and a virtual copy is sent to your phone.

Stephen Ryan, executive director
of the New England Convenience Store Association, said he had never heard of the app but would be interested to see how it works. If a person wins over $600, their tickets are delivered to them so they can claim prizes in person. There are already about 10,000 users registered to the app. And in case you’re anxious about buying too many tickets, there’s a $100 daily cap. “We have real concerns about a few of the ideas floating out there about people selling lottery tickets over the Internet, which certainly isn’t a good idea for the retailer”. But, this is all now limited to New York-based lotteries – Jackpocket has plans to expand to California and New Jersey, but there’s no timetable for that yet.

Any lottery-related device would have to abide by Massachusetts law, he said, which does not allow players to pay for tickets with credit cards. So far, Illinois is the only state lottery to offer direct mobile sales, so the company’s team of ticket-buyers may be in business for a while yet.