WORCESTER, Mass. — The launch of iLottery, an online version of the Massuchesetts, has been delayed to April 2026. 

iLottery leaders said they estimated it would take about 16 months to get the program up-and-running after legislation passed in July, but they're still waiting for funding. 

In the meantime, they've been doing things like meeting with prospective vendors. Christian Teja, iLottery's chief officer, said having their products online will allow them to be more competitive with online sports betting. 

"Over the last several years, the gaming landscape has really changed” Teja said. “We had the introduction of casinos and then we had the introduction of daily fantasy sports and now sports betting, both at the brick-and-mortar casino locations and on mobile applications. So, the lottery really is a solely a cash business that was at retailers across the state. We needed to be able to be competitive and be in the same marketplace that people do all kinds of transactions on their phones and mobile devices right now. So, it's really getting to where our consumers are."

Christian Teja said it'll cost about $2.5 million to get the program started, but once it's bringing in revenue it will support itself.