Sun City West resident wins $50K on Jackpocket app

If you've ever wanted to play the lottery without having to leave the comfort of your home, then there's a new app in Arizona for you.

The new "Uber Eats" for lottery tickets has produced its first Arizona winner after an 81-year-old Sun City West resident won $50,000.

With the Mega Millions now hitting its second-largest jackpot of all time, more and more people are itching to toss their hat into playing the lottery. Enter the Jackpocket app, which for Sun City West couple Val and husband Mark, generated a win on their first try.

"It was with the urging of my wife. She noticed the big drawing was over a billion dollars or some ridiculous amount of money," Mark told The Arizona Republic.

Playing into their fate, Mark decided to buy a few Fantasy 5 tickets.

"I found the website and joined it and loaded up some money on it, so I just decided to bet the Sunday (drawing) along with the Wednesday lotto drawing." Mark said. "I wasn't really expecting anything."

Astonishingly, the couple hit the jackpot.

"I don't think we knew we had won anything until they called me from New York the next day and said that I was the jackpot winner," Mark said. "I was a little skeptical with the phone call and so was my wife, we were kind of taken aback, but we were excited too."

With the ticket secured, the couple headed down to the lottery office in Tempe where, once verified, they got their check.

"Just tryin to figure out how to spend it!" Val said.

When asked, Mark had a quick response.

"Well, she needs a new tooth." Mark said as the couple shared a laugh.

Aside from another drawing on Wednesday night, Mark and Val don't have any plans to try their luck in Friday's Mega Millions drawing.

"No, I don't think so, I'll probably just pick and choose, but I've still got some money loaded up in the (Jackpocket) website, so I gotta spend it somehow." Mark said.

What is 'Jackpocket'?

After it was available in 15 states since 2013, the self-dubbed "Uber Eats" of the lottery just kicked off in Arizona earlier this month.

"We're really stoked to be there, and we can't believe that within the first few days of being live we were able to get a top tier winner, which is even more exciting," Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivan told the Republic.

Jackpocket, which partners with Circle K, works as if you were to go into a store and purchase a lottery ticket, all from your phone.

"If we can make it a little easier for a working mom or somebody that's stuck at the office, we think it's really compelling," Sullivan said.

According to Sullivan, nearly 70% of the app user base is under the age of 45, causing Jackpocket to serve as a bridge, blending a younger generation of lottery players alongside first-timers.

"We surveyed our audience, and about 14% had never played the lottery before," Sullivan said. "It was interesting when we started to ask people, when you're in a line at a gas store if you've never played before, it could be a little intimidating. This allows you from the convenience of your home to play but also learn about the games and what the odds are, when the drawings go off."

It works like most gig-economy apps do. Players are able to load money into the app via credit or debit card and "order" their ticket. Someone will then venture to Circle K, purchase your ticket, and load it onto the app for you.

More importantly, players don't have to stress about losing their lottery tickets. When your ticket is loaded onto the app, players receive a confirmation email with their ticket's serial number, creating a proof of purchase tying the ticket back to you in case you win.

Players that win anything under $600 can have their winnings cashed out and loaded right onto the app but if you win more than $600, Jackpocket will contact the player directly to pick up their ticket from a fulfillment center or mail it directly to you.

There is no surcharge that comes with winning a prize through Jackpocket. Instead, players will only be charged a service fee when loading funds into the app.

For winners, however, Jackpocket will personally "eat the fee" when you get paid out.

"We want people to feel like they were getting 100% of their winnings so we actually eat the fee when we pay the money to your bank account because we wanted to do right by the customer," Sullivan said. "What we don't want to do is trick anyone. We've seen other types of gameplay out there, not lottery per say, but some do stuff like that, but we just don't want to trick our users. We want to compel them to either replay those credits or if they want to withdraw those winnings for free."

A feature that Sullivan and team are trying to push out is partnering with various sports teams in states the app is usable in to provide alternative prizes to users.

"What we are going to offer is sweepstakes inside the app," Sullivan said.

According to Sullivan, these sweepstakes would see players with a losing ticket be entered into a potential prize such as sitting courtside with Mark Cuban (one of Jackpocket's investors) at a Dallas Mavericks game for those playing in Texas.

"We think there's an opportunity to give Arizona players another opportunity to win when they're playing on Jackpocket, and we're currently talking to some of the sports teams there so we hope to announce those soon." Sullivan said.

In Arizona, players have to be 21 or older to use the app and place an order, similar to other betting apps such as FanDuel and Draft Kings.

To enter, players can submit a picture of their photo ID or enter the information manually which Jackpocket will then ensure that your identity exists, are of age, and that players are in the state system.

Once approved, the app will verify you by using the phone number entered and send a short SMS code.

Azcentral readers can use code 'REPUBLIC' when checking out in the Jackpocket app to receive a free Mega Millions ticket.