Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 2

A Tale from Texas

It's not easy being deployed in Iraq, U.S. servicemen would say. Really! Who's kidding nobody? But it makes all the sacrifices easier when by the time a soldier comes home, he's got US$200,000 waiting for him in his native land. That's how lucky Sergeant Bethurel Griffin got. Before leaving Texas back in 2006, he joined a lottery syndicate and made a bet on the US$12 Million Texas Lotto jackpot. Now he's not only a walking epitome of luck, he's also a pride of his nation.

Now I'm from Texas and so I couldn't help but pinpoint this particular story of luck for simple reasons. What if Sgt. Griffin was in Iraq and made a bet in the Texas lottery and won? Would he have gotten the prize? If you are aware of the FTC regulations when it comes to online betting, especially in lottery, the answer is simple: No. Not only will Sgt. Griffin be allowed to buy the lottery tickets, he won't get his prize too. The FTC requires local lottery ticket retailers to sell only within the state boundaries. Selling and buying lottery tickets through mail, phone and Internet is considered illegal in the U.S.

Virtual Gibraltar

But if Sgt. Griffin had forgotten to make that bet before leaving Texas, and still thought his luck cannot be contained anymore, he could still have made a stake at a lottery prize offshore. Now I won't corrupt Sgt. Griffin's civilian duties while overseas. I'll look at it from the perspective of the common guy. What if some dude named Luke wanted to play at Gibraltar Casino but didn't have enough money to buy plane tickets, pay for hotel accommodations, and pull out some cash for the buffet meals? Not to mention spend time taking out some British ladies to dinner?

The rest of the story continues here!

Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 2

Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 1

And now let's go back to the original question: So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online? First of all, it will be easier to set up this kind of high risk business offshore. As we've discussed earlier, the FTC allows companies to set up lottery businesses as long as they sell the tickets locally (in participating states) and never through mail, telephone, or online. That means your customers are limited only to the residents of your participating state. Elsewhere in the world, e-commerce lottery merchants are making good profit off worldwide buyers. So if you are bent on setting up this type of business, you would need to get a lottery merchant account offshore. This will make things easier for you as doing business offshore has a hefty number of advantages.


GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES

I must confess it has taken me sometime to get the whole picture of buying lottery tickets online. Years ago, I mistook buying them as legal, selling illegal. I had originally thought anyone can buy tickets anywhere. Of course, my naivety has only been born of the fact that I don't really buy lottery tickets. Not even offline. Please don't ask me why, or whether I should try!

So obviously I did my own research and came up with interesting ideas. Lottery would always remind me of all kinds of gambling games, except that it's really big time. Jackpot prizes go over the roof. Unfortunately, I've been hearing lately that although lottery sales have been breaking records, Powerball wins are getting quieter. The immensity of the jackpot prizes give people slimmer chances of winning. But of course, all high rolling lottery games follow this path.

The thing with buying and selling lottery is that most of it is dependent on the Federal Trade Commission's regulations. According to FTC, buying and selling lottery tickets through mail, telephone or the Internet are illegal. Oh, and did I mention about doing it offshore yet?

Some old colleague asked, "So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online?" I would like to answer her, but I felt like stepping back and saying "Are you sure you really want to?" But if most of you are like her, first take a quick look at Insider Tricks to Successful Merchant Account Application to get a good idea of what going through a high risk business entails.

And now let's go back to the original question: So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online?

Continued:

Lottery Merchant Accounts