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Massachusetts just made the case for online casino legalization harder to win. The state lottery launched its long-awaited online platform Monday, strengthening its position in the state’s gaming market just as Deb Goldberg, state treasurer and chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, continues to fight against legalized real-money online casinos.
Lottery projects $360 million in profit by 2036
Speaking at the launch, Goldberg described the online lottery platform as “an exciting new chapter” for the lottery, saying it will let the agency “compete on a more level playing field” in the state’s gaming market. She added that the new revenue will help make childcare more affordable for Massachusetts families.
Officials are projecting steady growth from the platform. According to Goldberg’s estimates, the lottery expects:
- $70 million in net profit during its first year online
- Climbing past $180 million by year three
- $230 million by year five
- $360 million by year 10
Mass Lottery Online launches 20-plus digital games
Mass Lottery Online launched with more than 20 instant games, all powered by gaming developer Aristocrat Interactive. Most of the eInstant games work like digital scratch tickets: some feature symbols that cascade or tumble into place for quick wins, similar to online slots, while others task players with matching numbers or finding hidden symbols.
Players can wager between 50 cents and $50 per game, with a typical payout of about 90%. The lottery plans to roll out a new eInstant game every two weeks, with additional titles — including virtual horse racing — expected before year’s end.
Beyond the eInstants, the platform offers two new online-only numbers games, Mass 3 and Mass 4, alongside online ticket sales for draw games such as Mega Millions, Powerball and Megabucks. Traditional Keno, the Numbers Game and the Wheel of Luck remain unavailable online. Online play is restricted to players 21 and older, five years above the in-store minimum age of 18.
The platform also includes several responsible-gambling safeguards: deposit and play limits, cooling-off periods, self-exclusion options and a ban on credit card use. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is partnering with the lottery on PlayBreak, a voluntary self-exclusion program for players who want to step back from online play.
Goldberg’s long opposition to expanded gambling
Goldberg’s resistance to expanded gaming predates Massachusetts’ retail slots and casinos by more than a decade.
In 2015, as regulators cracked down on daily fantasy sports platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel, Goldberg argued the lottery should launch its own fantasy sports product to stay competitive. In 2022, as the state prepared to legalize sports betting, she pushed incoming operators to strike cross-promotion deals with the lottery to help protect its sales.
Her position hasn’t shifted. In December 2025, Goldberg said the lottery would struggle to match online casinos on marketing, even with its own platform live. “We won’t be able to compete in terms of advertising,” she said, adding that she remains opposed to legalized iGaming because her top priority is the people of Massachusetts.
iLottery launch raises the stakes for casino operators
The launch shifts the argument facing casino operators. Where they once had to counter hypothetical concerns about the lottery’s future performance, they must now contend with real sales data from a working platform.
That puts lottery officials in a stronger position: If online sales perform well, lawmakers may see less urgency to open the market to casino competitors. Lottery profits fund the state’s Early Education and Care Operational Grant Fund, which supports childcare programs statewide — a connection to a popular public benefit that adds weight to Goldberg’s side of the debate.
Gambling revenue overall remains a significant, if shrinking, share of the state budget. Casinos, the lottery and regulated sports betting together generated more than $1.5 billion in state revenue in fiscal year 2025, more than the state collected from its gas, estate, cigarette and alcohol taxes combined, according to WBUR coverage of the launch.
Even so, gambling revenue as a share of the overall state budget has declined over the past two decades.
Where online casino legislation stands now
Real-money online casino advocates face longer odds in Massachusetts than they did a year ago. Lawmakers made little headway on legalization in 2026, and talks stalled after the House side of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies voted unanimously in March to send an internet gaming bill to study rather than advance it.
A DraftKings representative testified in November that the measure could have generated $170 million to $200 million a year in state revenue.
State Rep. David Muradian, who sponsored this year’s online casino bill, plans to refile similar legislation next year, with discussions expected to resume in 2027, according to Legal Sports Report.
If lawmakers eventually approve online casinos, Massachusetts would become the fourth New England state to do so. Connecticut and Rhode Island already have live online casino markets, and Maine is expected to launch its own platform around the start of next year.
Until then, Massachusetts players looking for legal online gaming have only the lottery’s new digital games to choose from.
