ANOTHER ROUND OF SECURITY CHECKS SHOWS
ALL LOTTERY PRIZES PROPERLY PAID

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Lottery Conducts Checks In 10 Counties As Powerball Jackpot Continues To Climb

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Lottery has conducted another round of unannounced security checks at retail locations across the state to see how winning tickets would be handled, and all prizes again were properly paid by store personnel.

Lottery investigators posing as customers visited 66 randomly-selected retail locations May 12-13, presenting tickets for cashing that each had won prizes of up to $100. In every instance, the location paid the correct amount. The lottery continued to vary its approach in the security checks, with most of this month's visits occurring at night.

The latest checks followed earlier rounds conducted by the lottery in February and April, when its investigators visited a total of 140 Iowa retail locations. All prizes were paid correctly in those instances as well.

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said the retailer compliance program is part of the lottery's ongoing focus on security and integrity.

"There have been instances where lottery customers were defrauded in areas outside Iowa," Rich said. "Our continuing security checks are designed to guard against even the possibility of that here."

Rich said that the latest checks were intentionally timed to occur during a period of high lottery sales driven in large part by the Powerball jackpot, which has reached an estimated $170 million for Wednesday's drawing.

In Minnesota, eight people who worked at retail locations were charged with felony lottery fraud after retail compliance checks by the Minnesota Lottery in December and January. Investigators said each of the clerks kept a winning ticket they were presented and attempted to claim the prize themselves.

And this year in California, more than two dozen people working at retail outlets have been arrested for the grand theft of winning lottery tickets as part of checks by the California Lottery. All of the California suspects were accused of cheating lottery customers.

Joe Diaz, the lottery's vice president of security, said the Iowa Lottery again varied its approach in its latest checks. In February, lottery security investigators, all of whom were men, posed as the customers. In April, investigators oversaw the process, but female lottery employees posed as the customers and presented tickets for cashing. This month, many of the checks were conducted at night, while the earlier rounds had occurred during the day.

Diaz said it's important for the lottery to cover a range of scenarios as part of its work.

"Players must know that the lottery's games are fair and secure, and retailers must follow the rules," he said.

Rich said the lottery continues to work with retail locations to ensure that store personnel are requiring customers to sign their lottery tickets before they can be checked or cashed. In February, about half the retail locations visited did not require signatures on tickets. That number has improved, with nearly two-thirds of locations requiring signatures in the lottery's latest checks.

Rich said the lottery will visit those locations that did not require signatures and inform them that ongoing violations will not be tolerated. The easiest way for consumers to protect themselves is by signing their tickets as soon as they are purchased, he said.

"A signature on a lottery ticket identifies it as belonging to the person who has signed it. That provides protection and avoids confusion for all those involved in the validation process," he said. "Consumers should protect themselves by signing their tickets and retailers should check for that signature."

Over the past few years, the Iowa Lottery has increased its focus on lottery security in a variety of ways. In January 2007, the lottery held a joint news conference with the Attorney General's Office to warn Iowans about lottery scams. The Lottery also enhanced the player security information it offered on its Web site (visit www.ialottery.com and click on "Player Security" to learn more).

In 2008, the lottery instituted two other security enhancements, requiring that tickets be signed on the back before they can be checked or cashed; and that receipts be printed for all lotto and instant-scratch tickets that are checked or cashed. Two receipts are printed – one for the retailer and one for the lottery player – that show the results of a particular ticket and whether it has won a prize. Receipts are not involved for pull-tab tickets, as the amount of any pull-tab prize won is already printed on the ticket.

Rich said the Iowa Lottery is a leader in consumer protection, and it will not compromise on the issue.

Retailers visited by the lottery this month included a mix of businesses in 10 counties: Polk, Adair, Pottawattamie, Greene, Carroll, Harrison, Linn, Black Hawk, Grundy and Benton. Eight of the stores in the latest round also were visited by the lottery during its earlier checks. The other 58 stores had not been checked before.

Anyone who has a concern about the lottery, its products or operations should contact the lottery at 515-725-7900 or e-mail the lottery at Wmaster@ialottery.com.

Anyone with a security-related concern should make their inquiry directly to the Lottery Security Department at 515-725-7888.

• 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.
• Follow the Lottery on Twitter, friend the lottery on Facebook or visit the lottery's blog at www.ialotteryblog.com.

Since the Iowa Lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs.