Pennsylvania Lottery Website Now Optimized for Smartphone Access

Mobile site lets on-the-go players find nearby retailers, check winning numbers

MIDDLETOWN, Pa., July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To provide on-the-go players with easier access to Lottery information, palottery.com – the website for the Pennsylvania Lottery – is now mobile-device friendly.

Smartphone users can bookmark the site at m.palottery.com.  

"We know that users are already accessing palottery.com from their mobile devices and we are excited to improve their experiences by optimizing some of our most popular Web pages for easy navigation on mobile devices," said Drew Svitko, interim executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery. "Visits from mobile devices make up more than 15 percent of all visits to our website."

Over the past year, the number of monthly visits to Lottery's site from mobile devices has more than doubled; rising from 409,435 in May 2010 to 944,451 in May 2011.

The site now automatically recognizes smartphones (such as iPhones, Androids and Blackberries) and other mobile devices, allowing users to more easily navigate the Lottery's website to find information such as winning numbers and jackpot amounts.

The mobile site features an enhanced "Find a Retailer" tool that uses geolocation and GPS coordinates to identify for players the names and addresses of the 10 nearest Lottery retailers. Users can also search retailers by ZIP code, as they can on the non-mobile site.

The mobile site provides visitors with:

• Winning numbers and jackpot amounts;
• Past winning numbers;
• Information on all of Lottery's games such as prizes, odds and how to play;
• Information on instant games, such as active games, prizes remaining and games that have ended;
• Information on the VIP Players Club; and
• The "Find a Retailer" tool to help users locate nearby Lottery retailers.

The launch of Lottery's mobile site builds on its recent debut into social media as another way to engage a broad audience in a fun and effective way, promoting its games and spreading the word about how the Lottery benefits older Pennsylvanians, every day.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception in 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed nearly $20.6 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state. The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. Players must be 18 or older.

For more information, visit www.palottery.com, log in to Facebook and like us at www.facebook.com/palottery or follow us at www.twitter.com/palottery.  

Media contact: Elizabeth Brassell, 717-787-6960

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery