PORTLAND, Oregon — The lottery isn't for everyone, but for those who like to take a chance to win, Mido Lotto is giving away free Powerball tickets to mark its expansion to Oregon. The only catch: People need to download the Mido Lotto app.
“You'll see a button on there and we're giving away a free Powerball ticket to everyone on the state of Oregon as part of our launch,” said Richard Wheeler, the president of Lottery Now, which owns the Mido Lotto app.
The app works just like food delivery service Door Dash, except it's for lottery tickets and it's mostly electronic. Here's how it works: A person orders a ticket through the app, then a worker buys the ticket in person, and then the app sends a digital copy to the person who ordered it. The app will electronically transfer up to $600.00 in winnings. For bigger jackpots, they deliver the actual ticket and then the lottery player must claim the prize.
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The app charges a 20% convenience fee; that's 40 cents for a $2.00 Powerball or Mega Millions ticket.
“We never take anyone's winnings, so the convenience fee is on the front end when you order the ticket, but once that's done, that's it,” said Wheeler.
There is no connection to the Oregon Lottery, but like a few other apps, Mido Lotto does the legwork of getting tickets, within the current system.
“In most states, you can't get access to lottery on your phone and we just think, in the year 2021, that's kind of crazy,” said Wheeler.
Anyone interested in the free Powerball ticket giveaway must download the app by Nov. 29.
“...We hope that somebody wins as a result; we look to celebrate our launch in Oregon and we hope somebody gets really lucky," Wheeler said.