Powerball and Mega Millions tickets are now available for purchase in checkout lanes at select Fareway stores in Iowa, marking the option’s state debut.
The Iowa Lottery purchase process, called Easy Play, soon will roll out to all Fareway locations in the state that sell tickets. Customers will be able to buy easy-pick tickets (meaning the numbers in the play are randomly assigned) in Powerball and Mega Millions in any checkout lane that has a cashier.
Iowa Lottery tickets previously could only be bought at a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk in a retail location.
The purchase process allows easy-pick tickets in Powerball and Mega Millions to be printed at the cash register. They are produced on the same paper as store receipts, but separately.
“At Fareway, the customer experience is a top priority, and adding Easy Play will elevate that experience for our lottery playing customers,” said Mike McCormick, Fareway’s chief retail officer.
Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn likened Easy Play to an express lane, while the lottery terminal provides a full-service approach.
“We recognize consumer expectations for convenience and are thrilled to be delivering that factor through this new process.”
The Easy Play process allows customers at the cash register to buy easy-pick tickets with one, two, three, five or 10 plays for the next drawing in Powerball and Mega Millions.
Easy Play tickets do not allow the Power Play, Double Play or Megaplier features to be added, nor are they available at self-service checkouts.
Customers who want to cash a lottery prize or buy tickets for other lottery games still must go to the lottery terminal.
Strawn said that development and implementation of the Easy Play technology has been a years-long endeavor for the Iowa Lottery. He emphasized that the tickets adhere to the same security standards. And, any cash registers used for Easy Play transactions must be able to ensure that lottery purchases are made with cash or the equivalent, not credit.
Easy Play tickets can be checked or cashed at any retail location in Iowa. Tickets printed from a store’s cash register look similar to those from a lottery terminal, but feature the Easy Play logo to help identify them. And as with tickets from a lottery terminal, excessive heat or light can damage Easy Play tickets.
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The technology that allows Iowa Lottery tickets to be printed from cash registers in Fareway stores involves technology from three platforms: the statewide central gaming system that provides and tracks Iowa Lottery sales transactions in real time; the point-of-sale system used at Fareway store cash registers; and a systems communications bridge that securely links the two.
The systems bridge is provided through a technical partnership with ABACUS. Using the North American State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) API, the ABACUS Fusion Platform has been integrated with the lottery’s central gaming system provided by Scientific Games to enable in-lane sales of the two major national lottery games.
ABACUS, in conjunction with its retail vendor partners, has built the connectivity that facilitates the sale of lottery tickets on the retailers’ point-of-sale systems. This solution enables the quick and seamless deployment of lottery products into retail.
“We are pleased to be working with the Iowa Lottery and Fareway Stores who will be the first U.S. lottery and grocer – and among the first in North America – to adopt this print-on-receipt lottery solution,” said Simon Butler, CEO of ABACUS.
“ABACUS are innovators in the lottery industry and help lead the U.S. lottery market in improving retail lottery operations.”
Scientific Games, the Iowa Lottery’s systems and retail point-of-sale technology provider, worked with the Lottery and Abacus to connect the solution to its central gaming system.
Fareway’s POS software solution is provided by LOC Software.
“We are committed to providing innovative retail solutions that enhance both retail operations and customer convenience,” said LOC founder and Chief Technology Officer Stephan Mercier. “The integration of Easy Play with LOC’s point of sale solution demonstrates our ability to streamline transactions while maintaining the security and efficiency that retailers and consumers expect.”
Gilles Lapierre, CEO of LOC Software, said the company’s partnership with ABACUS allows retailers like Fareway to efficiently integrate lottery sales into their operations.
“We are dedicated to developing innovative solutions that simplify business processes, enhance customer convenience and improve overall operational efficiency for our retail partners,” Lapierre said.