In a perfect world, lottery players would be able to purchase tickets, scan them on their phones, and have their winnings deposited directly into their bank accounts.
The ideal world has arrived (for the most part).
The Massachusetts Lotto recently introduced remote ticket cashing. With this new feature, customers can claim prizes ranging from $601 to $5,000.
“Making remote ticket cashing transactions available is a great advancement for the Lottery in accommodating our customers,” said Massachusetts State Lottery Commission Chair Deborah B. Goldberg in a press release . “It also has the added benefit of positive environmental impacts as it helps reduce carbon emissions by reducing excessive driving and the production of paper checks.”
Is there a demand for remote claims in the Massachusetts Lottery world?
The Lottery’s recent remote addition is more than just an effort to modernize; it meets a real need among Massachusetts Lottery players.
The Lottery launched a mobile app in fall 2020, allowing customers to scan tickets from their devices. However, if their ticket was a winner, customers still had to visit an authorized lottery retailer to claim their prize.
Since the app’s launch, over 16,000 people have signed up and have scanned more than 2.6 million tickets. In other words, the average lottery app user has scanned about 175 tickets.
One of those 16,000 users is Elaine Tellstone, a Blackstone resident who was the first app user to claim a winning ticket through the app.
“It was just so simple – it took less than five minutes to scan my ticket and submit my claim,” Tellstone said in a lottery press release. “Based on traffic and how many people were in line, it would’ve taken about two hours out of my day to claim my prize in person in Worcester.”
How do you claim lottery winnings with your phone?
Users can download the app and create a Massachusetts Lottery player account for free through Apple’s App Store and Google Play. From there, users can check winning numbers and current jackpots, watch Keno To Go and All Or Nothing To Go drawings, and scan instant and draw games.
If an instant or draw game is a winner with a prize of $601 to $5,000, users can choose to have the prize directly deposited into their bank account. This new feature saves time for customers and provides a secure way to receive winnings.
Additionally, mobile redemptions are much simpler. Normally, any prize over $600 would require the winner to appear in person at an authorized lottery retailer or a lottery office to claim their prize. The winner would need to present a photo ID and proof of a Social Security number.
J. Ur. Duren possesses covered the particular gambling sounds for more than twelve states with respect to Catena Music since 2015. His previous reporting knowledge includes 2 years at the Communities Daily Sunlight, and he is often a first-place success at the Lakewood ranch Press Organization Excellence inside Journalism Tournament.
