You asked when the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) plans to update its lottery terminals. You also want to know how CLC discontinues “scratch-off” games and what the practice is with regard to unsold tickets remaining in the hands of the agent.

CLC has no plans to replace the current lottery terminals at this time. Under its contract with Scientific Games International (SGI), it must keep them until 2008. CLC will continue to approve software and hardware upgrades that it believes will enhance the performance of the terminals. It is in the process of developing a pilot test program with SGI for installing a limited number of newer generation “Extrema” lottery terminals. The purpose of this test will be to evaluate market acceptance, technical performance, and compatibility with the “Games Management System” software that SGI installed last year. CLC and SGI are working on the program details.

CLC discontinues instant “scratch-off” games when (1) ticket sales are slow, (2) inventory is depleted, or (3) the last top prize is claimed. When it decides to discontinue a game, it notifies lottery agents by placing an electronic message on the terminals (terminal report) telling them when

the game will be discontinued. CLC also puts the information on its website and posts the following legal notice in the Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, and Connecticut Post:

There will be no further distribution of the games listed above to Lottery Retailers for sale to the general public effective as of [date]. Purchasers of tickets for the [names of games] are advised that all cash prizes are redeemable for up to one (1) full year from the announced end of game.

When CLC decides to discontinue a game because the last top prize is claimed, it immediately stops distributing the game to lottery agents and, for certain games with a very big top prize (historically $ 500,000 or more), it automatically shuts off the ability of the lottery terminals to open new packs of tickets. But agents can finish selling tickets they have in open packs (only one open pack for each terminal) until the date the game ends.

When CLC does not shut off the ability of the terminals to open new packs of tickets before the “game-end” date, it is left to retailers to decide whether they want to continue to open new packs of tickets. They are responsible for any tickets unsold in an open pack after the game is discontinued. On the date when the game is discontinued, CLC lottery representatives retrieve any unsold tickets the agents have in unopened packs. It bills the agents for any unsold tickets in open packs in their possession (minus commission).

VR: dw