Follow-Up On Lottery Security Checks

The security checks we just conducted at retail locations across Iowa have revealed something we need to work on when it comes to the process of checking and cashing lottery tickets. Only about half the retailers we visited required that lottery tickets be signed before checking or cashing them.

Putting your signature on the back of your ticket is a requirement the Iowa Lottery put in place last year as part of our elevated focus on lottery security. You know, having a signature on a lottery ticket really protects everyone in the ticket-validation process. From the start, it identifies the ticket as belonging to you so that if the ticket is given to someone else in the validation process, it’s still identified as your property. That protects the customer and it protects the retailer against any questions that might come up later.

We’re going to renew our efforts to educate the public about the importance of signatures on lottery tickets, and we’ll specifically visit those locations that did not ask for signatures to inform them that ongoing violations will not be tolerated.

Iowa has had a very strong record regarding lottery security and all of our increased efforts over the past few years have been designed to protect against even the possibility of fraud. Yes, there have been problems in other areas, but those problems don’t appear to exist in our state and we want to make sure that it stays that way

Comments

[Nathan Pralle]

Since I don't play the lottery a ton, I don't know the answer to this question -- is there an obvious signature line on the backside of tickets? That might be a good idea; makes it more official, I guess, if there isn't already.