Pennsylvania’s much anticipated online lottery is a step closer to launching following the release of temporary regulations by the state’s Department of Revenue in a news dump last Friday. As stipulated by the scope of news dump, the temporary regulations cover “iLottery game rules, iLottery registration and participation requirements, and iLottery self-exclusion requirements.”
These temporary regulations are set to remain in place for the next two years as the Department of Revenue works towards providing permanent regulations. In drafting these permanent regulations, the department will put into consideration all the written comments as well as the suggestions and objections regarding the temporary regulations that will be submitted over the next month.
The Registration Process
In essence, the Pennsylvanian online lottery is going to emulate the online lottery and online gambling models in other states. Players are required to be at least 18 years old and be located in the state in order to play. This will have to be proven through identity verification and geolocation within Pennsylvanian borders as the player purchases tickets or try to play instant win games.
In summary, to establish online lottery accounts potential players will require the following:
- Names as their appear on valid government-issued identification or tax documents
- Dates of birth
- Home addresses
- Either the last for digits or the entire Social Security number, or equivalent for foreigners (taxpayer ID number or passport)
- Email addresses
- Telephone numbers
More on the Regulations
Other than a ton of useful disclosure requirements for online lottery providers, the temporary regulations further include a number of responsible gaming policies. These include self-inclusion and the capability of the online lottery site customers to set their own deposit, wagering and time limits.
According to the regulations, self-exclusion requests can be made through player accounts. Customers who choose to self-exclude are allowed to choose from multiple self-exclusion periods. However, during any of these periods of self-exclusion, players may not withdraw funds from their accounts.