IOWA LOTTERY IMPLEMENTS RECEIPT PHASE
OF PLAYER SECURITY PROGRAM

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Starting Monday, Players Can Receive a Receipt After Checking or Cashing Most Lottery Tickets

DES MOINES, Iowa - Starting Monday, Iowa Lottery players can receive a receipt every time they check or cash a lotto or instant-scratch ticket at a lottery retailer.

The receipts are the second phase of the Iowa Lottery's enhanced player security program. The lottery began implementing new security initiatives in March. At that time, the lottery's “Sign it. It's yours” campaign began, requiring players to sign the backs of their tickets before they can be checked or cashed by an Iowa Lottery retailer. The lottery also began a public awareness campaign at that time to inform the public about the new procedures and players' rights and responsibilities when it comes to checking and cashing lottery tickets.

On Monday, another initiative will begin. Receipts will be available for every instant-scratch or lotto ticket that is checked or cashed. Two receipts will be printed - one for the retailer and one for the lottery player - that will show the results of a particular ticket and whether it has won a prize. Receipts will not be involved for pull-tab tickets, as the amount of any pull-tab prize won is already printed under the tabs on the front of the ticket.

The new procedure is designed to help ensure that players are paid the prizes they rightfully have won. When a player wins a prize, the receipt will show the amount won, eliminating any possibility of confusion over the winnings that should be paid out.

“The Iowa Lottery wants to do everything it can to prevent even the slightest possibility of fraud,” said Iowa Lottery Acting CEO Ken Brickman. “By having the player sign the back of the ticket and having a receipt available any time a lotto or scratch ticket is checked or cashed, both the player and retailer are protected.”

The Iowa Lottery also reminds the public that there are a variety of ways to learn about the lottery and its products:

• Watch the televised drawings in lotto games.
• Check information on the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com.
• Ask a retailer to print winning numbers reports from the lottery terminal.
• Call one of the lottery's five regional offices around the state for information.
• Listen to lottery results on local radio stations.
• Check lottery results in local newspapers.
• Call the lottery's winning numbers hot line at 515-323-4633.
• Sign up for the lottery's VIP Club and receive e-mails of winning numbers and drawing results.
• Sign up for the lottery's text-messaging service that sends winning numbers and other information directly to a player’s text-enabled mobile device.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $2.1 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $1.1 billion has been raised for state programs.