Opinion No. (1999)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE ELAINE ALQUIST, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a person, on behalf of another, purchase California state lottery tickets from an authorized retailer and charge a fee for the services rendered? CONCLUSION A person may not, on behalf of another, purchase California state lottery tickets from an authorized retailer and charge a fee for the services rendered. ANALYSIS A company is proposing to buy state lottery tickets on behalf of its customers. A customer would telephone the company, ordering a specified number of tickets and paying for the tickets by credit card. The company would purchase the tickets from an authorized ticket retailer and deliver the tickets to the customer. If a prize is won, the company would assist the customer in receiving the prize. For its services, the company would charge the customer a fee, for example, 50 cents per ticket purchased. We are asked whether the company may operate such a business. We conclude that it may not. Generally speaking, conducting a lottery in California is illegal. The Constitution…