Oregon Lottery to launch mobile app to widen customer base

The Oregon Lottery is going to launch a mobile app that would allow users to bet on their mobile phones.

This would be a welcome step after the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that paved the way to allow sports betting in the United States.

“I think it’ll be good,” Kim Carpenter, a bartender at Broadway Saloon in Beaverton said. “Anything new is gonna bring people in, so if it has something to do with money, or food, or drinks, people are gonna go towards that, I think.”

Oregon Lottery spokesperson Chuck Baumann said lottery players across the country are aging. Their biggest challenge today is attracting new, younger players.

“We’re just trying to get caught up to something that many other lotteries are doing. And most companies who have a product to sell, they’re selling online,” Baumann said. “Having some sort of a game they can challenge each other with, they can have some rankings and some things like that. So that’s where we’re moving toward.”

Carpenter thinks a mobile app will draw more customers to the bar she works at. And at least initially, Baumann said the app will be more of a convenience for their customers, rather than a betting platform.

 “They’ll be able to scan tickets to see if they’re winners, they’ll be able to check their numbers, they’ll also be able to find retailers nearest them,” Baumann said.

Baumann told FOX 12 people may be wondering how the OR Lottery will keep kids from getting into the app. He said it’ll be similar to iTunes: you’ll need to have a unique log-in.

“We’re going to do as much as we can, such as age-gating and all those other safety measures to keep them from being able to do that,” Baumann said.

The OR Lottery app will also include jackpot awareness, allowing users to know just how big they could win.

It will also have responsible gambling features, Baumann said, including elements like time limits that players can set, and budgets to manage their play.

Source:  KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting Corporation