The day is coming when lottery players in Iowa will be able to purchase Powerball tickets and other lotto-style tickets online on their computer, smartphone or tablet, says Terry Rich, president/CEO of the Iowa Lottery. Rich, who was in Cedar Rapids as part of a tour of the state to talk about the Iowa Lottery, said the states of Illinois and Minnesota now permit in-state online lottery purchases and other states, including New Jersey and Georgia, also are looking to do the same.

“We know it’s coming. It will happen,” Rich said. For now, though, he said he wants to see some other states add online sales before he pushes ahead with the idea in Iowa. “We’ve done research on the companies and names and what’s available,” he said. “We’re comfortable with security, with the geo(graphic) coding and age verification. … But we want to do it when it’s strategically and fiscally prudent for the state of Iowa.”

Rich said two factors could speed the Iowa Lottery’s move to sell Powerball tickets online for , as well as lotto games like Mega Millions: If the federal government, in an effort to stop online gambling with offshore companies, allows Nevada casinos to offer online gambling nationwide; or if Iowa casinos win state approval to offer online gambling in Iowa.

Concern in other states about online lottery sales has come from convenience stores, which are primary sellers of lottery tickets. However, Rich said studies in Europe, where the online sale of lotto tickets has been in place for some time, have shown that online sales actually increase in-store sales of lottery tickets. This Powerball tickets story originally appeared on The Gazette website.