Ontario self-serve lottery machines will confirm ID using swipe or scan technology

An image of a self-serving lottery terminal, provided by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission.

The Ontario government is hoping to change the rules to allow self-serving lottery ticket terminals to verify identification using a swiping or scanning system.

In September, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) announced it would be piloting self-serve lottery ticket terminals in select retail locations across the province.

The pilot would see 1,400 of these terminals installed between the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024.

However, in order to ensure that retailers don’t have to manually check each user’s ID, changes need to be made to the Gaming Control Act.

By changing this legislation, the OLG will be able to enable swipe or scan technology to confirm the user is at least 18 years old.

“It does look like a vending machine,” Tony Bitonti, a spokesperson for OLG, told CTV News Toronto on Friday. “They'll have all the games, you know 649, Lotto Max, and they’ll have the Instant tickets.”

The automated machines will allow users to swipe or scan their driver’s licence, passports, or other pieces of identification. Bitonti added that this information will not be stored in the machine or uploaded elsewhere.

“No personal information or personal data will be retained by our by our systems.”

The terminals will be useful in high-volume areas such as gas stations, Bitonti said, where residents sometimes have to stand in long lines to check their tickets.

Other locations could include convenient stores or mom and pop shops.

“They’re easy. You put a couple bucks in, you buy your tickets and you don’t have to stand in line.”

The OLG stressed that it will be responsible for training retailers, and part of that training will include “controls for mitigating access by minors.”

At the beginning, users will only be able to make purchases from the terminals. The process to claim cash prizes remains the same.

Bitonti said that similar self-serving lottery terminals are used in the Maritimes and a similar program is set to launch in British Columbia this year.

The regulatory change to the Gaming Control Act was posted publicly on April 14. Members of the public may provide comment until April 29, at which point the amendment will return to the government for further consideration.