§ 24 — State lottery commission; powers and duties

[ Text of section effective until July 1, 2024. For text effective July 1, 2024, see below.]Section 24. The commission is hereby authorized to conduct a state lottery and shall determine the types of lottery or lotteries, to be conducted, the price, or prices, of tickets or shares in the lottery, the numbers and sizes of the prizes on the winning tickets or shares, the manner of selecting the winning tickets or shares, the manner of payment of prizes to the holders of winning tickets or shares, the frequency of the drawings or selections of winning tickets or shares and the type or types of locations at which tickets or shares may be sold, the method to be used in selling tickets or shares, the licensing of agents to sell tickets or shares; provided, however, that no tickets or shares, other than season tickets, so-called, shall be sold, offered for sale, or purchased from a licensed sales agent or the lottery commission by telephone or by the use of computer or facsimile services; provided, further, that said restriction shall not govern the transmittal of lottery information and sales through telephone services strictly between the lottery commission and its duly licensed sales agents; provided, further, that no person under the age of eighteen shall be licensed as an agent, the manner and amount of compensation, if any, to be paid licensed sales agents, and such other matters necessary or desirable for the efficient and economical operation and administration of the lottery and for the convenience of the purchasers of tickets or shares and the holders of winning tickets or shares; provided, however, that the amount of compensation, if any, to be paid to licensed sales agents as a commission pursuant to this section shall be calculated on the total face value of each ticket or share sold and not on any discounted price of any such ticket or share sold. The commission is authorized to operate the daily numbers game seven days a week. Each state lottery ticket or share shall have imprinted thereon the state seal and a serial number. The commission may establish, and from time to time revise, such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or desirable and shall file the same with the office of the state secretary. The commission shall advise and make recommendations to the director regarding the operation and administration of the lottery. The commission shall report monthly to the governor, the attorney general and the general court, the total lottery revenues, prize disbursements and other expenses for the preceding month, and shall make an annual independently audited financial report to the same which shall include a full and complete statement of lottery revenues, prize disbursements and other expenses, including such recommendations as it may deem necessary or advisable, which shall be made available electronically to the general public not later than the earliest date established for reports in section 12 of chapter 7A. The commission shall report immediately to the governor and the general court any matters which require immediate changes in the laws of the commonwealth in order to prevent abuses and evasions of the lottery law or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or to rectify undesirable conditions in connection with the administration or operation of the state lottery.The commission is authorized to carry on a continuous study and investigation of said lottery throughout the commonwealth in order (1) to ascertain any defects in the state lottery law or in the rules and regulations issued thereunder whereby any abuse in the administration and operation of the lottery or any evasion of said law or said rules and regulations may arise or be practiced, (2) to formulate recommendations for changes in said law and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder to prevent such abuses and evasions, and (3) to guard against the use of said law and rules and regulations issued thereunder as a cloak for the carrying on of organized gambling and crime.The commission shall make a continuous study and investigation of the operation and administration of similar laws in other states or countries, of any literature on the subject which from time to time may be published or available, of any federal laws which may affect the operation of the lottery, and of the reaction of citizens of the commonwealth to existing and potential features of the lottery with a view to recommending or effecting changes that will tend to better serve and implement the purposes of the state lottery law.The concurrence of the chairman and of not less than two other members of the commission shall be required for all official actions of the commission. A copy of the minutes of each meeting of the commission, including any rules and regulations adopted by the commission or any amendments thereof, shall be forthwith transmitted, by and under the certification of the secretary thereof, to the governor.The commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, papers, books, records and other evidence before it in any matter over which it has jurisdiction, control or supervision. The commission shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations to persons whose testimony is required.Chapter 10: Section 24. State lottery commission; powers and duties[ Text of section as amended by 2024, 140, Sec. 7 effective July 1, 2024. See 2024, 140, Sec. 264. For text effective until July 1, 2024, see above.]Section 24. (a) The commission is hereby authorized to conduct a state lottery and shall determine: (i) the types of lotteries to be conducted; (ii) the prices of tickets or shares in the lottery; (iii) the number and sizes of the prizes on the winning tickets or shares; (iv) the manner of selecting the winning tickets or shares; (v) the manner of payment of prizes to the holders of winning tickets or shares; (vi) the frequency of the drawings or selections of winning tickets or shares; (vii) the types of locations at which tickets or shares may be sold; (viii) the method to be used in selling tickets or shares; provided, however, that no tickets or shares shall be sold, offered for sale or purchased from a licensed sales agent or the lottery commission by telephone call; provided further, that said restriction on telephone calls for sales, offers for sale or purchase shall not govern the transmittal of lottery information and sales through telephone services solely between the lottery commission and its duly licensed sales agents; provided further, that the commission shall authorize licensed sales agents to facilitate point of sale transactions using a debit card; and provided further, that the commission shall prohibit point of sale transactions or online transactions using credit cards as defined in section 1 of chapter 140D and that point of sale transactions under this section shall be subject to the restrictions pursuant to subsection (b) of section 5Iof chapter 18; (ix) the licensing of agents to sell tickets or shares; provided, however, that no person under the age of 18 shall be licensed as an agent; (x) the manner and amount of compensation, if any, to be paid to licensed sales agents; provided, however, that the amount of compensation, if any, to be paid to licensed sales agents as a commission pursuant to this section shall be calculated on the total face value of each ticket or share sold and not on any discounted price of any such ticket or share sold; and (xi) such other matters necessary or desirable for the efficient and economical operation and administration of the lottery and for the convenience of the purchasers of tickets or shares and the holders of winning tickets or shares. The commission may operate the daily numbers game 7 days a week. Each physical state lottery ticket or share shall have imprinted thereon the state seal and a serial number.(b) The commission may establish, and from time to time revise, such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or desirable and shall file the same with the office of the state secretary. The commission shall establish rules and regulations for lotteries conducted online, over the internet or through the use of a mobile application that shall, at a minimum:(i) require age verification measures to be reasonably designed to block access to and prevent sales of lottery tickets, games or shares online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means to persons under the age of 21;(ii) limit sales of lottery tickets, games or shares online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means to transactions initiated and received, or otherwise made, within the commonwealth;(iii) allow any player to voluntarily prohibit or otherwise exclude themself from purchasing a lottery ticket, game or share online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means;(iv) establish maximum limits for account deposits and transactions of lottery tickets, games or shares conducted online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means and allow players to reduce their own deposit or transaction limit at any time;(v) clarify that any cash deposited and unspent in a lottery account belongs solely to the owner of the account and may be withdrawn by the owner at any time subject to the satisfaction of controls or policies put in place to maintain security of customer funds and to prevent fraud and unauthorized or unlawful withdrawals;(vi) require the commission to implement promotional activities to encourage the purchase of lottery tickets, games or shares through licensed sales agents; provided, however, that promotional activities and all advertising shall not: (a) jeopardize the public health, welfare or the safety of the general public; (b) be deceptive, false, misleading, untrue or intended to deceive or create a misleading impression whether directly or by ambiguity or omission; and (c) use unsolicited pop-up advertisements on the internet or by text message directed to an individual on the list of self-excluded persons established pursuant to clause (iii); and provided further, that no advertisements shall be directed or targeted to individuals younger than 21 years old;(vii) require within any online system a search function to find nearby licensed sales agents offering lottery sales at brick-and-mortar retail stores in the commonwealth; and(viii) require that the lottery shall supply the department of public health with customer tracking data collected or generated by the online lottery anonymized to remove from the data: (a) personally identifying information, including a player's name, street address, bank or credit information and the last 4 digits of a player's zip code, in compliance with section 2 of chapter 93H; and (b) game identifying information, including game name and device manufacturing company, in protection of corporate intellectual property; provided, however, that the data shall retain information on player characteristics including, but not limited to, gender, age and region of residence and player behavior including, but not limited to, frequency of play, length of play, speed of play, denomination of play, amounts wagered and, if applicable, characteristics of games; provided further, that the department shall convey the anonymized data to a research facility that shall make the data available to qualified researchers for the purposes of: (1) conducting analyses that improve understanding of how gambling addiction develops and progresses; (2) developing evidence-based harm minimization strategies; and (3) developing evidence-based systems to monitor, detect and intervene in high-risk gambling; and provided further, that the commission shall request reports on researcher analyses of the behavioral data to inform its recommendations to the general court relative to more effective regulation of gambling operations.(c) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the name, address, transaction history, account balance or other personal or identifying information of an individual who purchases lottery tickets, games or shares online, over the internet, through the use of a mobile application or through any other means shall not be deemed public records of the commission for the purposes of section 10 of chapter 66; provided, however, that this subsection shall not prohibit the commission from using a prize winner's name, city or town of residence or photograph to publicize a lottery prize claim in excess of $600; and provided further, that this subsection shall not prohibit the commission from maintaining, using or sharing such information in the course of lottery-conducted investigation or an investigation by law enforcement or in compliance with sections 28A or 28B.(d) The commission shall advise and make recommendations to the director regarding the operation and administration of the lottery. The commission shall report monthly to the governor, the attorney general and the general court the total lottery revenues, prize disbursements and other expenses for the preceding month and shall make an annual independently audited financial report to the same, which shall include a full and complete statement of lottery revenues, prize disbursements and other expenses, including such recommendations as it may deem necessary or advisable, which shall be made available electronically to the general public not later than the earliest date established for reports in section 12 of chapter 7A. The commission shall report immediately to the governor and the general court any matters that require immediate changes in the laws of the commonwealth to prevent abuses and evasions of the lottery law or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, or to rectify undesirable conditions in connection with the administration or operation of the state lottery.(e) The commission may carry on a continuous study and investigation of the lottery throughout the commonwealth in order to: (i) ascertain any defects in the state lottery law or in the rules and regulations issued thereunder whereby any abuse in the administration and operation of the lottery or any evasion of said law or said rules and regulations may arise or be practiced; (ii) formulate recommendations for changes in said law and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder to prevent such abuses and evasions; and (iii) guard against the use of said law and rules and regulations issued thereunder as a cloak for the carrying on of organized gambling and crime.(f) The commission shall make a continuous study and investigation of: (i) the operation and administration of similar laws in other states or countries; (ii) any literature on the subject that from time-to-time may be published or available; (iii) any federal laws that may affect the operation of the lottery; and (iv) the reaction of citizens of the commonwealth to existing and potential features of the lottery with a view to recommending or effecting changes that will tend to better serve and implement the purposes of the state lottery law.(g) The concurrence of the chair and not less than 2 other members of the commission shall be required for all official actions of the commission. A copy of the minutes of each meeting of the commission, including any rules and regulations adopted by the commission or any amendments thereof, shall be forthwith transmitted, by and under the certification of the secretary thereof, to the governor.(h) The commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, papers, books, records and other evidence before it in any matter over which it has jurisdiction, control or supervision. The commission shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations to persons whose testimony is required.