Gambling and Lotteries Open New Prepaid Markets

American society loves the opportunity to hit it rich. The combination of the desire to win, loosening regulations, and advancing technology is enabling a growth opportunity to use prepaid accounts to fund these enterprises. Mobile sports books and mobile apps for state lotteries enable prepaid, stored-value accounts to enable a cycle that keeps money circulating within their systems while also solving customer needs, as credit cards generally are not authorized for gambling purchases. Both use cases also follow a process that’s similar to other stored-value examples, like coffee and fast-food loyalty apps, by encouraging incentives and bonuses to spur additional purchases. The inherent risks of gambling separate these accounts from traditional stored-value purchases, as operators must be keenly aware of outside factors that can influence fair play as well as the financial health of the players. Despite those risks, the opportunity to capture new markets and for states to boost tax income provide a path for growth in the segment.