Is That Receipt For My Ticket?

We just got a great question from a lottery player and I want to answer it here on the blog because it covers an important issue about the receipts available in Iowa for lottery tickets. We’ve also posted a video about this question on our Web site and YouTube if you want to have a look.

A Des Moines man e-mailed us to ask, “How can I be sure the receipt I’m given is really for my lottery ticket?”

You’ll likely remember that last spring, the Iowa Lottery put in place some enhanced security procedures for its tickets. Click here and here to read a couple articles from that time about the new procedures. In March, the lottery began to require that all tickets in Iowa have to be signed before they can be validated. And in May, lottery terminals in Iowa began printing two receipts for every ticket that is checked or cashed. One receipt is for the player and one is for the retailer. Both show the results of the ticket involved.

I’ll take a second to give the reminder that you should first protect yourself by determining on your own whether your ticket has won a prize before you present it to be checked or cashed. But when your ticket is validated, the same serial number is printed on both the receipt and the ticket, so you can ensure they match.

If the receipt is for a scratch ticket, information at the bottom of the receipt shows the game, pack and ticket number for the ticket involved. Those same numbers are just above the barcode on the back of each scratch ticket, so you can check the receipt against the ticket to be sure they match. (Check out the pics with this blog entry to see what the serial numbers look like.)

If the receipt is for a lotto ticket in a game like Powerball or Hot Lotto, in the upper left-hand corner of the receipt is the word “Term,” which relates to the terminal being used to check the ticket. Underneath that is the 14-digit serial number for your ticket. The serial number is the string of numbers in front of the dash. That same serial number also is in the upper left-hand corner of the ticket itself. So again, you can check the receipt against the ticket to ensure they match.

Receipts are not involved for the Iowa Lottery’s pull-tab tickets because they already include “built-in receipts.” Any prize amount won on a pull-tab is already printed underneath the tabs on the ticket so the prize involved is very clear.

A lot of retail locations automatically offer nonwinning tickets back to their customers, but if that doesn’t happen, feel free to ask for your ticket back if you have any concerns. Winning tickets are kept by the lottery and its retailers for record-keeping and security purposes, but nonwinning tickets can be returned to the customer. 

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Robert. Thanks for commenting on our blog! It’s always great to hear from lottery players.

The plays in Powerball are, in fact, generated by the terminal at your local store. Each lottery in the Powerball game has its own separate computer system, so there is no “central computer” in Powerball. That’s one of the reasons why the game’s jackpots can be (and have been) split amongst multiple winners – because duplicate plays are generated in the game. It’s one of the key features in Powerball’s design.

I can’t speak to the checks that are done by other lotteries, but here in Iowa, we check our software and equipment at least twice a year.

Take care,

Mary Neubauer
ialotteryblog.com

[Robert Becknell]

I live in Texas, but play Powerball in New Mexico. I'll play in Florida next year.
Question.
When I buy quick picks for Powerball, are they generated at the terminal in the NM store where I buy my tickets, or, are they generated at a central computer and printed at the requesting terminal?
You would be surprised how many folks think that lottery terminals in stores are random number generators and generate the QPs.
If true, how ofen are they checked to ensure that they are generating random combinations.?
Thanks for a reply.