Deborah Courtney, Director of Finance, Virginia Lottery explained the rationale for going cashless in Virginia. The lottery’s strategic objective was to increase the percentage of Virginia adults who play the lottery at least monthly.
She shared Virginia’s experience with implementing cashless payments at vending machines deployed at Virginia Lottery retailers across the state. Virginia Lottery research revealed players wanted a cashless payment option because it was more convenient. Like Pennsylvania, Virginia has decided to use a debit only model and pay for the transaction fee.
Incremental sales increased by $360 per unit, resulting in a direct profit of $104. Banking fees on average cost $43, leaving a net of $61 for the lottery. That results in $6 million a year in profits, without any marketing or process improvement.
The cashless trends panel provided important advice for proactive lotteries looking at going cashless in the future.
Deborah Courtney, Director of Finance, Virginia Lottery
Download: Virginia’s Cashless Vending Implementation – Deborah Courtney, Virginia Lottery
