Atlantic Lotto to launch lottery ticket vending machines
Nova Scotians will soon be able to buy lottery tickets from high-tech vending machines in convenient locations, as the Atlantic Lottery Corporation ALC tries to "reach current and new customers."
By October 2017, ALC plans to roll out 25 self-serve terminals across Atlantic Canada, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
A request for proposals shows the lottery corporation "could manage a network of up to 150 self-serve terminals in the Atlantic market."
Scratching without chatting
The machines will be rolled out "targeting grocery, liquor and mass-merchandisers stores," the document says.
Currently, draw tickets (such as Lotto 6/49) and scratch tickets are only available at kiosks or retail outlets staffed by employees. These new machines would be fully automated.
The machines would verify a purchaser's age using their driver's license.
Within the documents there is no indication that any kiosks would close, resulting in job losses. The document says "ALC views this technology as a growth opportunity."
Within the next year, the corporation will roll out 25 machines to assess the public's response and determine the best locations.
Constant loss of players
Documents released by ALC last year bemoaned a "constant loss of players" over the past decade.
The corporation launched a new crowd-sourced strategy to develop new gaming products. That tactic came following the failure of GeoSweep, a map-based gambling game.
Last year ALC announced it would accept a $8.7 million loss from the failed GeoSweep launch. The investment in GeoSweep turned out to be a disappointment, officials said, and the corporation was forced to write-off the multi-million-dollar loss.
Atlantic Lottery is publicly owned by the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada.
