Player Mail: Can Gift Cards Be Used To Buy Lottery Tix?

As the trend toward “cashless” continues, we're getting questions from players about what can and cannot be used to buy lottery tickets here in Iowa. We addressed the debit vs. credit issue last month, so check out that blog entry here.

The latest inquiry has to do with store gift cards/prepaid cards and whether those can be used to buy lottery tickets in Iowa. The answer is multi-layered, so let’s delve into it.

From a legal perspective, a gift card is the same as cash, so under Iowa law, it can be used to purchase lottery tickets.

But as we noted in our explanation about debit cards, some retail locations may have policies that bar the use of gift cards for lottery purchases, just as they may ban the use of personal checks for any purchase. Stores can and do develop their own policies about what’s allowed at their business, and we understand that.

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Billie. Great point. If a store's policy allows personal checks to be used, they are perfectly fine to purchase lottery tickets because a check is a cash transaction. My point in referencing checks is that some locations don't accept them at all and I was trying to illustrate that businesses have the ability to determine what they will and won't allow at their location.

[Billie Voelkel]

I have seen some buy them with a check