Self-serve lottery terminals have arrived in Barrie and Innisfil as part of a pilot program.
Officials with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced the project’s launch in February, but it’s still being rolled out.
So far, four of the machines have been installed throughout the city, along with four more in Innisfil, during this phase of the plan.
“Self-serve terminals (SST) will help us meet evolving consumer and retailer preferences while maintaining a strong commitment to responsible play,” Nancy Kennedy, OLG’s chief lottery and customer officer, said in a news release.
In Innisfil, the devices are located at Gateway Casino at 7485 5th Sideroad, the ONroute just south of Innisfil Beach Road, the Canadian Tire store at 1445 Innisfil Beach Rd., and the Simply Gas gas bar at 1496 Innisfil Beach Rd.
In Barrie, they can be found at Zehrs at 607 Cundles Rd. E., the ONroute at 201 Fairview Rd., Delta Bingo and Gaming at 52 Bayfield St., and the MacEwen gas bar at 652 Dunlop St. W.
Both Instant tickets and national (Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49 and Daily Grand) and regional (Lottario, Ontario 49, etc.) draw-based lottery tickets will be sold at the SST machines.
For the initial pilot, about 140 retailers were selected within approximately 100 kilometres of OLG’s head office in Sault Ste. Marie and corporate office locations in Toronto for easy access to technology support, OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti said in an email.
Once the pilot program is over, more will be installed across the province including in the Barrie and Innisfil area, according to the OLG.
“The new SST will not replace the traditional lottery terminals and the interactions customers have with their favourite retailer,” the release stated. “They will add only to the retail experience by providing more convenience for customers.”
In order to prove their age — purchases are restricted to those age 18 and older — terminal users will need to scan their identification.
“As for privacy, no personal information or personal data will be retained by OLG’s back-end systems or the SST’s on-board memory,” Bitonti said. “This is similar to the way IDs are currently scanned at Ontario casinos for 19-plus entry requirements.”
The pilot phase of the project is expected to wrap up in May.
