While state officials are looking to sell lottery tickets over the Internet by April, in the hopes that this will bring millions of dollars of additional revenue to state government, some convenience store owners fear it will take away from their businesses. State lottery

“One of my members thought he would lose 40 percent of his lottery sales,” said William Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association/Illinois Association of Convenience Stores. “It is not simply an issue of losing ticket sales to the Internet. It will cut down on foot traffic in our stores,” he said. “When people come in to buy their lottery tickets, they will make other purchases. We think we are going to lose a significant amount of that foot traffic.”

Currently, lottery ticket retailers earn a 5 percent commission on the tickets they sell and they can make additional money by cashing winning tickets up to $600 in their stores and for selling winning tickets of $1,000 or more. Lotteries

Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said “I’m very encouraged, we have a lottery system now where only about 14 to 15 percent of adults actually use the lottery. It’s been, unfortunately, disproportionately aimed at minorities, and with the ability to buy on the Internet, it will be an attraction, hopefully, for wealthier Illinoisans. It will be a way to raise money, and it will be voluntary.”

Among those who do buy lottery tickets at a Qik-n-EZ are Denise and Steven Lefever of Morrisonville. They recently won a $250,000 prize playing the Mega Millions game with a ticket bought at the Qik-n-EZ on North Grand Avenue. Denise said she buys lottery tickets every week. She might buy tickets online, she said, under certain circumstances.

“It would be more convenient if you had forgotten and didn’t want to go out and get your ticket,” she said.

But LeFever says “I make regular gas stops. I would go ahead and keep doing the convenience store unless I forget. You have to get gas. I can’t do that on the Internet.”

Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones said the key to increasing lottery revenues is to bring in new players.

“A high percentage of all adults walk through a retailer every week, but the great majority of them don’t play,” he said. “This extension of our retail channels, I think, can be positive rather than a negative. There’s no research that it will affect retailers negatively.”

Plus, not all lottery games will be available online. Players who enjoy instant games will still have to visit a retailer in order to buy those tickets. Internet sales will begin only with Lotto and Mega Millions games. Powerball could also be included if the General Assembly approves it.

Jones said the target is to have online sales available by late March or April.

The national convenience store association, though, still hopes to stop online sales from happening.

“We need to strongly work on federal legislation that will ban Internet lotteries,” Fitze said.