Minnesota Lottery Looks Online to Goose Sales

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota State Lottery is taking ticket sales online in hopes of boosting play among a wired younger generation who may not be interested in traditional paper tickets.

The lottery has offered tickets online for nearly a year, but the launch was kept so quiet that some gambling critics in the Legislature say they were taken by surprise.

Minnesota Lottery Acting Director Jenny Canfield tells The Associated Press that lottery officials notified then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty and top legislative leaders about their plans at the time.

She says Internet subscriptions are less than 1 percent of the lottery's total sales.

New York, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Virginia offer similar online sales, and industry officials say most states with lotteries are giving the idea serious consideration.

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