Arizona company can sell tickets by mail

TUCSON, Ariz. -- An Arizona company won a victory over the U.S. Postal Service when an appellate court ruled the company could sell lottery tickets by mail order.

Two years ago, a federal judge barred PowerPick from buying tickets on behalf of customers who sent checks through the mail. A federal appeals court overturned that decision, saying the company was not running a lottery, but merely operating a ticket-buying service, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Company founder Andy Amada said the company had lost about a third of its business due to the earlier order, but had been able to continue operating by taking credit card orders by phone.

PowerPick offers customers the ability to increase their odds of winning by pooling their money with funds from strangers. For $22, customers can share in a pool of 256 lottery tickets from Powerball, an interstate lottery, or The Pick, a game operated by the Arizona Lottery. The company pools together 50 customers per 256-ticket pool, pocketing about $850 in profit per 50-person pool.

Amada said his company takes about 2,000 orders per week.

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