You can buy your lotto ticket at the convenience store or the gas station. But an L.A. company, Lottogopher, lets you buy your tickets online.

James Morel founded Lottogopher nearly four years ago when he realized that no one else was offering the service online. The reason? Federal and state Internet gaming restrictions require government-sanctioned lottery tickets be sold online only at cost, with no fees attached.

“My specialty is taking an old business model, putting new technology into it and then branding it to a younger generation,” said Morel, 43. “With the state lottery, the trick is to be able to sell tickets online while still remaining in compliance.”

So Morel devised a membership system, where people can join for as little as $10 a month and then buy all the tickets they want online at face value. Lottogopher uses the membership revenue to offer additional features such as buyer pools, analysis and advice on picks.

Now, armed with $600,000 in new funding from about 30 L.A. and Pasadena angel investors, Morel wants to take Lottogopher into other states, such as Texas and New York, starting next year. The Park Mile company has about eight employees; the investment closed in December.

“We’ll go wherever we can fit into that space between the retailer and those who don’t play the lottery,” he said.

– Howard Fine