Questions From the 1st Days Of Easy Play Lottery Sales At The Checkout

Here are the top questions players have had as they’re trying out the new option for lottery sales at the checkout in Iowa Fareway® locations. Don’t see your question here? Feel free to send it our way and we’ll get you an answer!

What is the Easy Play option for buying lottery tickets?

The Easy Play process allows tickets in Powerball® and Mega Millions® to be produced from the cash register on the same paper as store receipts. Customers in a Fareway checkout lane staffed by a cashier can buy quick-pick tickets – where the numbers in the plays are randomly assigned – in Powerball and Mega Millions for the next drawing.

What if I want to buy a lottery ticket at the checkout but I’m paying for my groceries with a credit card?

In that instance, the Fareway point-of-sale system knows to conduct what’s called a split-tender transaction. You can still buy your groceries with your credit card, but since it’s illegal in Iowa for lottery tickets to be purchased with credit, you’ll need to pay for your lottery ticket with cash or a debit card. But if you’re buying your groceries with cash or debit, you’ll just make one payment for everything.

What if I want to choose my own numbers, add the multiplier or Double Play® option to my tickets, or buy tickets in other games?

Think of Easy Play as the express lane with just a couple lottery options available. This new options allows you to buy quick-pick tickets at the check-out, but still keeps the line moving along. Customers who want to buy tickets in the full selection of lottery games at the store, choose their own numbers in a lotto game, or cash a lottery prize, will still go to the lottery terminal where a clerk can help them.

Can I buy Easy Play tickets in a self-check lane?

The Easy Play option is currently only available in checkout lanes staffed by a cashier.

I wish the Easy Play option was available at more stores.

We get it! Easy Play provides a quick way for you to buy tickets and have a chance at those big jackpots. Fareway was the first Iowa Lottery retailer to go live with this new option, and Easy Play will be available by the end of the month at all Fareway locations in the state that sell lottery tickets. We’ll be glad to work with other locations that want to offer it.

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Terry. Thank you for letting us know you like that feature some other states include in their games! I will share your comment with our game-planning group. There are no current plans to add that feature to Pick 3/Pick 4 or to add a Pick 5 game here in Iowa, but we always listen to player input.

[Terry]

Question: Will Iowa ever do fireball play with the Pick3/Pick4 and also have Pick 5 Game?
Curious cause I know other States has that Game option

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Gabriel. If you have more information about the time and date you were at the store, as well as the store location/address, the folks in our Security Department may be able to look up what occurred with the InstaPlay ticket involved. Please do not post the details here, but rather, send the details in an email to our Webmaster email account at: [email protected]. Our staffers can then share your information with Lottery Security. If you still have the InstaPlay ticket you bought at the store, it will have the details to help pinpoint the store and date/time.

[Gabriel]

I have a question I buy the instant play tickets everyday and the other day at Casey's I bought one like I usually do and the machine got stuck the ticket got stuck when it was printing the ticket so the ticket was all crimpled and stuff so what about if that's the big winner you know for that instant play the girl just opened the machine rearrange the tape and printed me another ticket thank you