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The basics:

• Jackpot.com, an online lottery courier service, launched in New Jersey this spring, its sixth state of operation.
• Using the platform, players can instantly order tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions and state lottery games.
• The company’s rapid expansion includes a “massive partnership” with The Associated Press to become the AP’s official lottery courier and provider of nationwide lottery results.

In May, the online lottery courier service Jackpot.com debuted in New Jersey, marking the latest milestone for a company that does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. The local launch makes for the sixth state where the platform is offered.

“We’re thrilled to announce Jackpot.com’s New Jersey launch, the sixth state that will feature our unique service,” said Jackpot.com CEO and co-founder Akshay Khanna in May. “We are excited to help New Jerseyans play the lottery online with increased convenience, security, and safety.”

Using the platform, New Jersey lottery players can instantly order tickets for Powerball and Mega Millions as well as state lottery games, including Pick-3, Pick-4 and Cash 4 Life. Jackpot.com purchases tickets on behalf of customers from official state lottery retailers and then displays a scan of their ticket(s).

Players can transfer winnings under $600 in real time to customer accounts. For prizes greater than $600, Jackpot.com securely delivers the ticket to the player to collect their winnings. Robust responsible gaming programs include such guardrails as the ability to set spend limits, default limits on daily deposits, access to local and national responsible gaming resources, self-exclusion, self-suspension and automated notifications to offer help if problem behavior is detected. It is the only lottery courier service to launch with iCap certification from the National Council on Problem Gambling.

The Garden State is one of the largest lottery markets in the United States with total sales hitting $3.72 billion. The company notes that the $100 billion per year lottery business nationally has mostly been offline and cash-based with little technology and data integration.

San Francisco-based Jackpot.com also boasts prominent New Jersey sports figures as its investors – such as the Tisch family, co-owners of the New York Giants and Gotham FC, and New Jersey Devils legend and NHL Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Other high-profile investors include New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin; NBA stars James Harden and Joel Embiid; and hip-hop artist Lil Baby, along with notable partnerships.

Branching out

Last summer, Jackpot.com launched in New York. “And we knew we wanted to be part of bringing the fun and accessibility of online lottery to New Jersey,” said Next 3 founder and CEO Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, an investor in the lottery platform. “We are happy to be a part of Jackpot.com’s continued growth in the tri-state area, investing in an intuitive, easy-to-use method that is sure to be enjoyed by New Jersey customers.”

“At Jackpot.com, we’re always looking to enhance the player experience through increased accessibility and a more convenient and secure environment for players to purchase tickets – while also ensuring players never lose a winning ticket ever again,” said Khanna, who was previously an executive at StubHub and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

In addition to Khanna, the Jackpot.com leadership team features individuals with experience in the technology, gaming and licensing industries. The group includes co-founders Roi More, also the co-founder of Gett, and Yariv Ron, a real money gaming industry veteran.

In June, just days after the New Jersey launch, more major news came from Jackpot.com. The company became the official lottery courier and provider of nationwide lottery results for The Associated Press. Through the partnership, Jackpot.com is offering various state lottery results on APNews.com and to AP customers via a “lottery results feed” – as well as the opportunity for AP customers to offer ticket purchasing services through their own websites, where such services are available.

“Working with The Associated Press as their official lottery courier and provider of state lottery results marks a pivotal moment for us at Jackpot.com,” Khanna said in June. “This collaboration not only helps us provide readers with the latest lottery drawing results but enables them to seamlessly and responsibly purchase lottery tickets online. Through AP’s extensive reach, we’re not just selling tickets – we’re transforming the landscape of lottery gaming.”

Working with The Associated Press as their official lottery courier and provider of state lottery results marks a pivotal moment for us at Jackpot.com.
– Akshay Khanna, Jackpot.com CEO and co-founder

“We look forward to working with Jackpot.com to provide the latest lottery results to our customers as well as the audience on APNews.com,” said Barry Bedlan, AP’s global products director for text, data, and new markets.

Q&A with the CEO

NJBIZ recently caught up with Khanna to discuss the major announcements, the company’s goals, New Jersey ties and more. The conversation started with Khanna discussing Jackpot.com’s philosophy and what it brings to the table for its users.

“It’s 2024 – people are used to purchasing everything on their phones, or at the very least on the internet – whether it’s on their phones, their computers, their tablets,” Khanna told NJBIZ. “It’s a multigenerational trend – and lottery tickets have lagged behind. And we are here to change that. Because at the end of the day – we, I, have a fundamental belief that companies that are consumer-focused need to meet the consumer in the way in which the consumer wants to shop. And in 2024, the consumer wants to shop from the luxury of their homes – without having to go outside; without having to pay in cash; without having to deal with pieces of paper; and most importantly, to be able to browse those products and make the purchase on their electronic devices.”

And Khanna stressed, that’s what Jackpot.com does.

“We create a safe, secure, convenient, transparent way for customers to purchase lottery tickets on their devices,” he explained.

In addition to the convenience, safety and security that the service offers, Khanna also noted Jackpot.com will take care of downstream aspects of purchasing a lottery ticket, such as storage. He pointed out that some $1 billion in unclaimed lottery winnings sit around each year because people forget they had the ticket, do not check if it is a winner, or even lose it.

“We store it for you. We make sure you don’t have to deal with pieces of paper,” said Khanna. “We let you know when you have won – and we even automatically remit the winnings directly into your account. So, you never need to leave your house from the point of purchase to the point of your winnings being remitted. You haven’t had to deal with any of the logistical headaches – we do all of that for you. And we’re super excited to finally be able to do that for all the people in New Jersey.”

Khanna raved about working with the state in getting the launch off the ground. He lauded the Garden State’s efforts in the digitization space. “New Jersey was at the forefront of online sports betting; at the forefront of online casinos; and in many ways, New Jersey has been the leader of the pack on driving businesses like ours in the online lottery courier space,” said Khanna. A space that has gotten more competitive, as NJBIZ has reported, with companies such as Jackpocket (profiled earlier this year) and others in operation. “And I think it’s a testament both to the New Jersey Lottery, who’ve been phenomenal partners to work – truly among the best that we have worked with. And just the whole State of New Jersey has embraced this philosophy of kind of digital progressivism that is really, really refreshing to see and makes our lives a lot easier.”

Khanna says it can often be challenging if you deal with regulatory authorities who are not quite as embracing of the digitization efforts.

NJ ties

From there, the executive discussed the company’s connections to the great Garden State.

“We have a lot of ties to New Jersey,” he stressed. “We have some big name, incredibly influential investors. And so, we’re very grateful to have a cap table that is littered with New Jersey royalty – in a way. It’s personally very important to me. I have a lot of family in the State of New Jersey. We also have a lot of employees who live in New Jersey. So, New Jersey, in many ways, represents a little bit of a homecoming for a lot of our management and our organization – because we do have a pretty sizable base of employees who live and work in New Jersey every day.”

Khanna joked that while every state Jackpot.com operates in is their “favorite,” New Jersey plays a particularly big part in the company’s story. “And it was really a super exciting day when we launched there,” he reiterated.

On the AP partnership, Khanna described it as a “critical milestone” for the company. He stressed the “unrivaled” reach and footprint nationally that AP brings to the table. “Being their official lottery feed partner, seeing our link to our website at the bottom of all articles about the lottery when the Powerball, the Mega Millions reaches certain jackpot amounts – it’s incredibly meaningful,” said Khanna. “It’s a massive partnership for us. We’re super grateful to the folks at AP for recognizing this field and understanding what an opportunity existed here. They were early to the game – and we are very grateful to work with a really thoughtful and sharp team on that end.”

A responsibility to promote responsibility

The Jackpot.com CEO also stressed how critical responsible gaming efforts are for both him and for the company. He described it as personal. “In a way, the lottery has every bit as much of a burden to share on making sure that people are buying in a responsible way,” said Khanna. “Obviously, the lottery is not gambling in the traditional sense. It’s certainly not an online casino or even a sportsbook. The lottery is a lower ticket purchase item. But nonetheless, it is a form of gaming – and we want to make sure that we’re at the forefront of that.”

He pointed to the company’s iCap certification – which it received even before launching. “That’s how critical it was to us. We basically delayed our launch to make sure that we were certified before launching,” said Khanna. “A lot of companies would have said – ‘we’ll figure this out as go along.’ It was critical to us to make sure we had that piece figured out before we ever sold a single ticket.

“It is a part of our DNA – it is a part of our identity,” Khanna continued. “And some of that, quite frankly, is we believe it’s good business. But a lot of it comes down to the fact that there are a number of members of the management team and of the company as a whole who’ve had family members that have dealt with gambling addiction; who’ve had personal battles with that. And so, when it becomes that personal to you – you make very, very strong efforts to make sure that that is in the DNA of the company and not just something that we talk about when it’s convenient.”

And he believes there is an obligation and duty to customers to take that aspect seriously – making sure there are tools such as daily spend limits, daily deposit limits and more. Khanna said that the company is using a combination of technology and manual oversight to immediately identify and flag problem gambling behavior for follow-up communications with those individuals.

“None of that can happen today in the status quo. Because in the status quo, you can just walk into a gas station – the gas station attendant doesn’t know what your previous purchasing history is,” said Khanna. “There’s no way they can expect to know that. And so, this is one of those areas where technological advancements have made it much more transparent and much easier to make changes as long as you truly care about it. And as long as you make sure it leads to the DNA of the company.”

What’s next?

As for what’s next and in the future? “You’re going to see a lot more of these announcements around more state expansion – unsurprisingly,” said Khanna. “We believe that our product is revolutionary – and we want as many people as we can get to utilize it.”

He also hinted at more partnership announcements. “We’re now 18 months into this business and we feel like we’ve made some pretty significant gains and put in a lot of the pillars of infrastructure that we need to expand the business going forward,” said Khanna. “Super excited on this front – and can’t wait to really focus in on New Jersey and make sure that all of our New Jersey customers are getting the products that they want – in the manner that they need it.”