Here’s a great question from a woman who contacted us on Facebook. Her name is Rhonda and she asked if she could cash a lottery ticket here in Iowa that she bought in Minnesota.
The short answer is no. She’ll need to claim that prize from the Minnesota Lottery. Why is that? It has to do with the technology that goes into running a lottery today and the fact that each state has its own separate computer system.
The lottery terminals that sell and cash lottery tickets in Iowa retail locations are connected to a central communications system that spans the state. That lottery network is extremely complex – it provides real-time information about retail transactions involving millions of tickets.
The same is true in Minnesota and any other U.S. state that has a lottery: Each lottery has its own computerized system to track the tickets it sells. In addition, the money raised from the sale of lottery tickets in each state stays in that state to help valuable causes.
Because each state lottery tracks its tickets and $$$$$ individually, the state lottery computer systems are independent. So that means our equipment here in Iowa can’t read Minnesota tickets, and vice versa.
Great question, Rhonda. And we hope to see you win a big prize here in Iowa someday!
I go back to what teachers have always said: There are no bad questions. I'm continually reminded that something I may know as a basic detail can be completely new information to someone else. Life is a learning process!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | August 09, 2016 at 02:16 PM
how is that a good question? Sounds like a no brainer to me
Posted by: jose | August 06, 2016 at 09:26 AM