A pilot program that allows motorists to purchase Lotto tickets at gas pumps in California – the latest state to introduce the practice – is being met with mixed reviews, and some are charging it will exploit the poor.
The program allows motorists to use their credit or debit cards at the pump to play lottery games, including SuperLotto Plus, Powerball and Mega Millions, according to a
California Lottery statement.
"Swipe your card, select your game and the number of Quick Pick plays you want," said the state lottery. "Then, verify your age and your numbers will be printed on your receipt. In addition, if you'd like, you can enter your cell phone number and we'll send your numbers in a text message as well."
The Sacramento Bee reported that lottery officials have placed a $50 limit on "Play at the Pump" games in an effort to curb people from overspending during a transaction.
Rev. James Butler, of California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, told the Bee that the game will draw gambling addicts, while targeting the poor and young people who tend to pay for gas at the pump more.
"Studies do show that the poor and the less-educated spend a larger proportion of their income on the lottery," said Butler. "This is an intrusion into our life, an exploitation of the poor and jeopardizes the lives of problem gamblers."
SFGate.com pointed to a 2014 Independent Community Bankers of America study that discovered 24 percent of millennials – those born between 1980 and the mid-2000s – carry less than $5 on them daily.
"The future of state lotteries depends on getting a whole new generation hooked," Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, told SFGate.com. "You do that by getting lottery games on the Internet and letting people use credit cards."
Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the California Lottery, said the agency is taking a go-slow approach, limiting the pilot program to 87 gas stations in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.
"We're looking to expand slowly," Traverso said to SFGate.com. "Once we get to 100 stations, we'll take a look and decide what to do next."
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