With notice on website, Lotto Express closes down

The brief existence of the Lotto Express ended Sunday, when a notice on its website gave customers until 6 p.m. to pick up their tickets or refunds.

Lotto Express debuted in late April through social media such as Twitter and Facebook as a service that would drive to Arizona or California to pick up state lottery tickets so that locals wouldn't have to. There would be no fee, but tips would be strongly encouraged.

"We felt what they were doing was illegal," said Jerry Markling, enforcement division chief for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, because it violated statutes against transferring lottery tickets.

While many forms of gambling are legal in Nevada, the lottery is not.

However, he added, the board did not force the shutdown.

"We had no official contact with them," he said.

Lotto Express did not answer its phone on Monday and its office near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus was closed.