March 4, 2025

Lottery-Ticket Purchases at Checkout Make Iowa Debut at Fareway Stores

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Powerball® and Mega Millions® tickets can now be purchased in checkout lanes at select Fareway® Stores in Iowa, marking the state debut of this new convenience in lottery
purchases.

The new purchase process allows the printing of easy-pick tickets in Powerball and Mega Millions at the cash register. The tickets involved are produced on the same paper as store receipts, but printed separately.

Called Easy Play, this new purchase option from the Iowa Lottery debuted Feb. 24 in select Fareway stores and is planned to roll out by the end of March to all Fareway locations in Iowa that sell lottery tickets. Customers at those stores 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 staffed by a cashier.

Prior to this month’s debut of Easy Play, Iowa Lottery tickets could only be purchased at a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk in a retail location.

“Think of Easy Play as an express lane while the lottery terminal provides a full-service approach for all lottery products,” said Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn. “We recognize consumer expectations for convenience and are thrilled to work with a partner like Fareway to deliver that experience.”

Mike McCormick, Chief Retail Officer with Fareway Stores, Inc., said his company welcomes the new option.

“We are excited to partner with the Iowa Lottery to be the first retailer in the state to provide customers with the convenience of Easy Play,” McCormick said. “At Fareway, the customer
experience is a top priority and adding Easy Play will elevate that experience for our lottery playing customers.”

The Easy Play process allows customers at the cash register to buy easy-pick tickets with 1, 2, 3, 5 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® options to be added and are not available at self-service checkouts.

Customers who want to cash a winning ticket, choose their own numbers to play in a lotto game, or buy tickets in the full selection of lottery games available at the store will still go to the lottery terminal for those transactions.

Strawn said that development and implementation of the Easy Play technology has been a years-long endeavor for the Iowa Lottery. He emphasized that Easy Play tickets adhere to the same exacting security standards as those from a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk. And, any Fareway cash registers utilized for Easy Play transactions 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 or self-service kiosk, excessive heat or light can damage Easy Play tickets. The technology that allows Iowa Lottery tickets to be printed from cash registers in Fareway stores involves technology from three distinct platforms: the statewide central gaming system that provides and tracks Iowa Lottery sales transactions in real-time; the point-of-sale system utilized 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. Simon Butler, the CEO of ABACUS said, “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. 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 point-of-sale software solution is provided by LOC Software, which has been a leader in retail technology for more than 30 years.

LOC Founder and Chief Technology Officer Stephan Mercier said, “At LOC Software, we are committed to providing innovative retail solutions that enhance both retail operations and customer convenience. 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, Chief Executive Officer of LOC Software, said that the company’s partnership with ABACUS allows retailers like Fareway to efficiently integrate lottery sales into their existing operations. “At LOC Software, 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.