T he New Jersey Lottery turned 50 this year and celebrated with innovations and new equipment befitting a lottery ranked among the top 10 in the nation and the 25 most successful in the world .
Lottery Executive Director James A . Carey Jr . said more than 25,000 pieces of new equipment , including signs , terminals and validation machines were installed at retailers across the state this year by IGT , the Lottery ’ s gaming system partner . Self-service machines got makeovers too , featuring digital touch screens , he said , adding that New Jersey is now partnering with Walmart to offer self-service machines in its stores . “ Working with IGT , we have updated our gaming system with state-of-the-art features to allow our players and retailers to continue to advance ,” Carey said . A whooping $ 3.2 billion in sales was generated in the last fiscal year by the lottery . New Jersey depends on the revenues to help support the public employee pension system for teachers , police , firefighters and other public employees . Last year the games delivered $ 1 billion to the treasury . Since the lottery was established in 1970 , it has contributed more than $ 28 billion to the state ’ s coffers . Lottery tickets are sold at 6,800 retailers statewide . They run the gamut from big chain outlets , like Wawa and QuickChek , to supermarkets and small mom-and-pop shops . E-commerce entered the lottery business too in New Jersey , just like sports betting and other gaming that have gone online . Since 2017 New Jersey has allowed online lottery sales through “ couriers .” Carey explained , however , that Garden State players could not use an app for their Mega Million tickets or any others until November , 2019 , because rules and 24 COMMERCE www . commercemagnj . com regulations had to be written and adopted first . “ They are designed to protect the integrity of the lottery and the interests of the players when they buy from a courier ,” the executive director said . New Jersey and New York distinguished themselves from other states by enacting a formal regulatory process for couriers . Jackpocket was the first and just recently Lotto . com also was given approval . Jackpocket is popular in other states , while New Jersey is Lotto .
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Working with IGT , we have updated our gaming system with state-ofthe-art features to allow our players and retailers to continue to advance com ’ s first state .
Initially , New Jersey limited couriers to Pick 6 , Powerball , Mega Millions and Cash4Life games . But when the pandemic drove everyone into quarantine , players requested the state Lottery Commission expand courier sales to the Pick 3 , Pick 4 and Jersey Cash 5 daily games , which they approved . “ We believe players had fewer options for their entertainment money . The lottery is convenient
” and it ’ s a fun , cheap way to spend your entertainment money in a pandemic and it can be done in a responsible way ,” Carey said .
Gambling has had a prominent place in New Jersey ’ s history . Lotteries were used to pay some of the debts racked up during the American Revolution and the French and Indian War . Tickets were even sold to help finance construction New Jersey ’ s most prestigious institutions of higher education — Queen ’ s College , which became Rutgers University , and the College of New Jersey , which later took the name Princeton . Continued On Page 32