NY Reveals Special Vaccination Lotto Campaign

New York is on its road to recovery from the unprecedented situation as even more vaccines are distributed to people. In order to reward its residents for getting vaccinated, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a special lottery promotion named Vax & Scratch. The special campaign will have a huge US$5 million prize for its big winner.

The Vax & Scratch program will provide free state lottery scratch-off tickets to locals who have decided to get vaccinated for the dangerous virus and are of at least 18 years old. In order for individuals to participate and get their tickets, they must get their first shot of Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from May 24 to May 28.

Slowly Returning to Normality

In a statement, Governor Cuomo stated that due to the slow vaccination process in the state, the legislature had to get creative and accelerate the course of events. He continued by saying that the faster New Yorkers get vaccinated, the sooner the state will be able to return to a normal condition of operations and way of life.

The governor revealed that as of right now 63% of adult New Yorkers and 51% of all New Yorkers have received at least one shot of a vaccine. And 54% of adults and 43% of all residents have been fully vaccinated. The scratch-off promotion is a great idea to engage more people in the vaccination process and reward them with a prize from US$20 to the grand prize of US$5 million.

The special giveaway lottery ticket program is being provided at 10 mass vaccination points in the state with both walk-ins and appointment possibilities. All sites that will offer free lottery tickets for vaccinated individuals from May 24 to May 28 are located in New York City, Long Island, Mid-Hudson, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, and Western New York.

The New York lottery initiative was inspired by Ohio’s Vax-a-Million promotion that will provide vaccinated residents with a chance to win US$ 1 million for five weeks in a row for individuals of 18 or more. The first winner will be officially announced on May 26, and then all further winning tickets will be revealed each Wednesday until June 23.

NYS Gambling State

The Empire State is on the verge of a gambling revolution, as previously the state’s legislature officially approved and included mobile sports betting in the new fiscal budget for 2022. The news broke at the start of April this year, and the gaming change will follow Gov. Cuomo’s limited market proposal, where there will be only two platform providers, and if other operators want to join in, they must apply for skin with the initially selected operators.

At the end of April, the New York Gaming Commission released a public document of Questions and Answers on the subject of mobile sports wagering. According to the file, candidates for the two platform positions must apply before July 1. Then the commission will have up to 150 days to give its final say on the chosen two. Each of the selected operators can partner with up to 4 other operators or skins.

Source: Goldberg, Barbara “Vaccinated New Yorkers can win US$5M in ‘Vax & Scratch’ lottery scheme”, CTV News, May 20, 2021