The mobile ticket-cashing feature that the Mass. Lottery’s app launched two years ago this week has now processed more than 76,000 prizes worth more than $100 million — and the ability to claim prizes remotely has saved Lottery players from burning 151,000 gallons of gas, the agency announced Thursday.

Being able to claim prizes worth between $601 and $5,000 remotely has not only been a convenience for the 34,570 players who have submitted claims, but not having to drive to a Lottery claim center has also saved those winners an estimated $568,000 in gasoline costs, the Lottery said.

In turn, those avoided trips have kept an estimated 2.9 million points of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.

“The mobile cashing app has been a terrific addition for the Lottery as we all adapt to new technology that helps accommodate our customers’ needs,” Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chairs the Mass. Lottery Commission, said. “It also has the added benefit of positive environmental impacts by eliminating unnecessary driving and even production of paper checks.”

The Lottery launched the mobile cashing feature in September 2021, allowing players to check if their tickets are winners and, if they are, remotely claim prizes between $601 and $5,000 that otherwise would have needed to be claimed at a Lottery office. Convenience stores that rely on foot traffic from Lottery players continue to process claims for prizes of $600 or less. It took 15 months from the September 2021 launch for the prize-cashing feature to dole out the first $50 million in prizes and just nine months to get from $50 million to $100 million in prizes claimed, the Lottery said.

“Hitting the $100 million mark in just two years is a testament to the trust the Lottery has built with our customers, as well as the strategic approach our team employed in introducing the app to our customers,” Liz Giffen, the Lottery’s director of digital operations, said.

https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/lottery-app-has-processed-100m-in-prizes/