Playing the lottery in New York just got even easier than “a dollar and a dream†for millions of iPhone users â€" and the timing couldn’t be better.
With the Powerball jackpot at $301 million and climbing, a new app for Apple’s iOS devices is eliminating the need to stop by the corner store to buy a ticket.
The Jackpocket app [1] , whose release will be announced Monday, allows users to simply tap and swipe their smartphone screens to play Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto and three other games.
The Soho-based company behind the software expects its app to “significantly increase†this week’s sales of Powerball tickets and boost the pot even higher ahead of Wednesday’s drawing.
Jackpocket founder Pete Sullivan said his target market was people in their 20s and 30s, especially women “who are intimidated to walk into a bodega.â€
“We’re rebranding the lottery to introduce it to people who’ve never played it before,†he said.
Users get their first ticket free and can buy more with their credit cards. Subscription options let a player buy tickets whenever a jackpot reaches a certain amount.
Users are notified if they win. Prizes up to $600 are credited to their accounts for future use or withdrawal.
But while the process appears totally electronic, Jackpocket buys tickets the old-fashioned way.
It dispatches employees to retailers who have agreed to split their 6 percent commissions with Jackpocket and give it preference at the register in exchange for the added business, Sullivan said.
The tickets are then brought back to Jackpocket’s offices, where it scans them and e-mails copies to the purchasers.
If players win more than $600, their tickets are securely delivered to them so they can claim their prizes, the company said.
Jackpocket stops accepting orders an hour before the ticket machines are shut down, Sullivan said.
Jackpocket has about 10,000 registered users â€" 75 percent with iPhones â€" who have played more than 200,000 games and scored more than $50,000 in winnings, Sullivan said.
While there was a previous version of the app, it was available only for phones running Google’s Android operating system.
A version for iPhones was released Friday.
The company, which recently began advertising on Facebook, sold nearly 5,500 tickets Sunday and hopes to increase that number tenfold within a month.
Sullivan said he hopes to license the technology to state lotteries. Only one state, Illinois, sells tickets through mobile devices.
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