Recognizing Retailer Excellence

From retailer newsletter spotlights and social media posts to formal recognition programs, lotteries honor their top-performing and most engaging retailers in a variety of ways.

By Patricia McQueen

Published August 19, 0225

With so much dependence on retail sales, many lotteries have implemented recognition and award programs to honor the hard-working people who make it happen. While retailers depend on the commissions and incentives they earn for selling lottery, they appreciate the (mostly) non-monetary recognition that helps them celebrate their efforts. Lotteries around North America are in various stages of developing these types of programs.

“We do see potential in developing more retailer engagement strategies that include spotlighting high-performing or standout partners,” explains Oklahoma Lottery Sales Manager Brittanie Glidewell. “As we continue to strengthen our retail network, incorporating recognition elements could be a valuable way to boost morale, build loyalty, and foster stronger relationships across the field.”

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Indeed, these are beneficial qualities cited by many of the lotteries that do have formalized recognition programs in place. Twenty-three lotteries responded to our inquiry on retailer recruitment and recognition, and many of them have some sort of programs in place to showcase top-performing retailers.

Many lotteries have a variety of programs in play to recognize the achievements of their most valuable partners. For example, the California Lottery has programs for Lucky Retailers, Contributions to Education, and Millionaire (and now Billionaire) Made Here kits. Each program comes with posters, door clings, banners, and a host of fun items to highlight the successes of recognized locations. Retailers that sell big winning tickets are highlighted on the Lottery’s website and social media channels, and in press releases. To celebrate the Lottery’s 40^th anniversary, a new program is in development that will celebrate retailers that began with the Lottery since day one.

The New Hampshire Lottery is another that has different programs celebrating its retail partners. “Prizes sold” certificates are provided to showcase how many prizes each retailer sold during the calendar year. The Marketing team creates Retailer Spotlights on social media to showcase retailers for a variety of reasons – a new Lottery retailer, for example, or a retailer that has great live music. Or even something as simple as a pro-lottery retailer with excellent customer service. Banners are also provided to any store that sold a winning ticket over $10,000 – this creates excitement from players, and the retailer gets deemed a “lucky store.”

Read on to learn about the various types of programs offered by lotteries across North America.

Status Symbols

The Colorado Lottery produces Top 100 plaques for retailers that reach that top 100 in sales. Yet it’s about more than sales – retailers also receive Proceeds Certificates that highlight how much money each retailer contributes to lottery proceeds based on sales in their location.

The Kentucky Lottery maintains a Premier Retailer program for retailers that sell $15,000 per week or more. There are four levels based on sales – Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These retailers are rewarded with a sticker for their door with their status and the year, a polo shirt with the “premier retailer logo,” and signage for their store.

In Michigan, lottery retailers that sell $1 million or more per year are presented with a customized plaque and a Michigan Lottery branded gift.

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The Missouri Lottery thanks its retailers for being great partners with several annual recognition programs. The Million Dollar Club recognizes retailers that met or exceeded $1 million in calendar year sales. Retailers receive prize packages, certificates and onsite signage, as well as a feature in the Lottery’s monthly retailer publication. And as resources allow, there are onsite events that celebrate these retailers and their customers. There are three tiers ($1 million to $1.5 million; $1.5 million to $2 million, and $2 million or more), with added gifts for each level. The program has grown from 20 retailers in 2011 to a record 244 retailers in 2023.

There are similar programs for Keno and pull-tab retailers. The Keno Crown Club recognizes social game retailers who met or exceeded $250,000 in calendar year Club Keno sales, and the Pull-Tabs Platinum Club honors fraternal organizations who met or exceeded $250,000 in calendar year Pull-Tabs sales.

The Montana Lottery has two categories of awards for its retailers. The Sales Agent of the Year is awarded to both a traditional lottery retailer and a Sports Bet Montana retailer. Lottery Sales Reps nominate top retailers annually, and although total sales are a significant factor, basing the awards solely on sales in a small lottery jurisdiction like Montana would likely produce repeated winners, diminishing the award’s value. So, in addition to sales data, the LSRs provide a narrative with their nominations that factor in things like retailer motivation, demonstrated improvement, partnership quality, engagement and promotion of lottery products, and market impact.

All nominees receive a certificate, and a celebratory event is held at each of the two winning locations; they are also promoted on social media. The winning retailers receive a plaque and banner, and customers receive free tickets, Lottery SWAG and snacks. The events are very popular, often leading to increased sales in all nominated locations.

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The second award category is the Wyman Hewitt Memorial Sales Agent Award, named after a former Lottery employee. LSRs also nominate retailers for this award, which recognizes retailers for the best retail presentation of Lottery products. Rather than sales, the award recognizes retailers’ overall Lottery enthusiasm, dedication to Lottery products, exemplary promotion using their own assets, and outstanding conduct in interactions with Lottery staff.

The North Carolina Education Lottery also uses banners as one of several ways they put the spotlight on top retail partners. To recognize top-selling retail locations, the Lottery provides an in-store display banner for the store that ranks number one in the state for selling lottery tickets. There are also in-store display banners distributed to the Lottery’s top five stores by sales in each of the state’s six sales regions.

For many years, part of the Ohio Lottery’s retailer recognition program has included a Retailer-of-the-Week. On a rolling basis, retailers are nominated by sales representatives in each of the Lottery’s nine regional offices. There is a dedicated Retailer Spotlight section of the website for this recognition, and a new Retailer-of-the-Week is acknowledged every Saturday night on the Ohio Lottery’s top-rated Cash Explosion TV show.

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In FY2011, the Lottery introduced the KENO Million Dollar Club to recognize the good work of retailers, especially those in the growing segment of bar, tavern, restaurant and club trade channels. Each year since then, retailers are acknowledged when they reach the million-dollar threshold in Keno sales. They receive a plaque from their dedicated sales representative and are recognized in the Lottery’s retailer publications and on its website. Approximately 1,500 retailers have been recognized in this program since it began.

For more than 20 years, the Texas Lottery has taken the initiative to recognize top-performing retailers each year in various categories: total sales, total cashes, scratch ticket sales, Lone Star Lineup sales and the top sales for each draw game. These retail partners are acknowledged through congratulatory letters, promotional items to the top 100 retailers in each category, commemorative plaques for the Top 10 in each category and more.

For calendar year 2024 performance, the top 100 retailers in each category were awarded Texas Lottery power banks. More than 430 retailers received a congratulatory letter and at least one power bank. Of those retailers, 39 achieved Top 10 status in one or more category and were recognized with a custom wall plaque. Those achieving top 10 status in a category receive an acknowledgment flyer and are posted on the Lottery’s website and in the agency’s Annual Report.

The Virginia Lottery has a Corporate Sales Awards Program that recognizes corporate chain stores for excellence in scratch sales and operations. The program aims to foster camaraderie between field sales teams and store employees, strengthen retailer relationships through meaningful recognition, highlight best-in-class performance in inventory management and game activation, and promote the Lottery’s positive impact on K-12 public education among retail leadership.

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There are two components – the Sales Leadership Award (the top-performing store based on overall scratch ticket sales volume) and the Sales Achievement Award (Gold and Silver tiers; awarded to two stores with the highest percentage growth in scratch ticket sales). To be eligible, stores must have 100% activation of new games and an out-of-stock inventory rate of less than 4%.

In 2025, the Virginia Lottery proudly hosted 107 award ceremonies led by its sales reps, with enthusiastic participation from corporate, regional, and district managers. These events fostered a vibrant atmosphere of engagement and pride, generating overwhelmingly positive feedback and reinforcing strong relationships across the entire retail network.

A new program launching this fiscal year is the Million Dollar Store Award Program. It honors any Virginia Lottery retail location (not just corporate accounts) that that achieves $1 million or more in total sales during the year. This award acknowledges exceptional retail performance and the store’s contribution to K-12 public education through Lottery proceeds, reinforcing the vital role every retailer plays in Virginia’s success story. This program was developed in response to feedback from senior corporate partners and from the field sales teams, reflecting a shared commitment to broader inclusion and recognition across the entire Virginia Lottery retail network.

Newsletter Recognition

Lotteries often have periodic retailer newsletters, informing their critical partners about new games and promotions, offering selling and merchandising tips, and providing operational information and a variety of other odds and ends. Many of them also celebrate big wins and top retailers. Here are a few examples cited by the lotteries responding to our inquiry.

The Arizona Lottery showcases retailers in its bi-monthly retailer publication, The Register. Outstanding retailers are presented in a dedicated Retailer Spotlight segment, and a Retailer of the Year is selected annually. Both spotlighted retailers and the Retailer of the Year are formally acknowledged at an Arizona Lottery Commission meeting, emphasizing their integral role in the Lottery’s success.

A quarterly newsletter produced by the Colorado Lottery highlights the top 10 chains and top 10 independent retailers.

The Iowa Lottery typically highlights retailers that sell significant prize wins, and annually announces the top 10 retailer locations on its website and in a press release. New this year, the Lottery’s retailer newsletter, Lottery Action, will also highlight top retailers.

The Kentucky Lottery highlights retailers in every region of the state in its The Quarter retailer magazine.

High-performing retailers are recognized in the Retailer Spotlight section of the quarterly Retailer Report newsletter produced by the Maryland Lottery. These articles include insights on the tactics these retailers have employed to consistently deliver strong sales performance.

The Michigan Lottery honors retailers who achieve $1 million or more in lottery sales per year. As noted above, they receive a plaque and gift, and they are also featured on the Lottery’s website and in the monthly retail newsletter, Game Line. Retailers who sell jackpot prizes are also photographed and featured in the Lottery’s online publications.

A Retailer Spotlight story is included in each bi-monthly edition of Ticket Talk, the retail newsletter produced by the Nebraska Lottery. Each issue also contains a crossword puzzle, and store employees who mail in a completed puzzle have a chance to win a $10 scratch coupon for every lottery-selling employee at their store.

The New Jersey Lottery spotlights retailers in its monthly Retailer Focus newsletter. The retailer chosen each month is based on their adoption of the Lottery’s current initiatives and sales rep suggestions. Highlighting retailers whose sales are on the upswing due to best practices hopefully encourages others to follow suit.

The top five stores annually in each sales region for the North Carolina Education Lottery are spotlighted in its annual Lottery Link newsletter – printed and hand delivered to all 7,140 retail locations (currently) in the state.

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Top-selling Ohio Lottery retailers and those who sell top prize tickets are recognized in the bi-monthly newsletter Ticket Seller.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s Lotto Post retailer newsletter has a Best in Class feature that showcases the Retailer of the Month with a short article about what makes them best in class. The newsletter also includes a “Winning Ticket Sold Here” celebration page, featuring retailers and their customers at the celebrations OLG arranges for retailers selling big winning tickets. These features are also showcased monthly on OLG’s Retailer Hub home page.

The quarterly newsletter Sales Maker, produced by the Pennsylvania Lottery, is just one way retailers are celebrated in the state. Reaching nearly 10,000 retailers across Pennsylvania, each issue showcases high-performing retailers, stores that host winner events, and best practices and success stories from the retail community. Its “Winning Ways” feature also shares retailer tips and strategies to inspire others.

 Top selling retailers are recognized in WyoLotto’s retailer newsletter.

Acknowledging Big Winners

Lotteries rely on winner awareness, which is getting more difficult as more jurisdictions pass anonymity laws and big winners otherwise reject publicity. There is a shift towards celebrating the retailers that sell the big winning tickets – they’ve always been part of the picture, of course, but now they are taking center stage in absence of a good winner story. Even with a such a story, it’s time to celebrate the hard-working retailers!

The British Columbia Lottery Corp. initiates a “We Sold a Winning Ticket” event when a retailer sells a winning ticket of $1 million or more. They are a great way to highlight where major prize-winning tickets are sold and the organization’s retail partners. The content is amplified across social media channels, which helps strengthen the partnerships with retailers.

If a Colorado retailer sells a winning ticket of $500,000 or more, the Colorado Lottery does an onsite promotion to celebrate. The promotion is broadcasted on social media and also sent to MyLottery members.

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The Maryland Lottery showcases retailers from time to time when they sell top prizes for draw and instant ticket games. Retailers are notified by the Lottery’s District Managers when they sell these winning tickets. The Lottery also provides 36"x72" banners to retailers that sell high-tier winning tickets (for example, “We sold a $500,000 winner!”) The retailers are excited to put these banners on display outside of their stores because they grab the attention of passersby and entice potential customers to try their luck at a place that has already sold a big winning ticket.

An important part of the Massachusetts Lottery’s communications strategy is recognizing that retailers are as much at the core of the work lotteries do as the players who purchase the products. In winner stories, the retail agents who sell top prizes are highlighted, and this content goes out to the media and is heavily featured on the Lottery’s social media accounts.

WyoLotto recognizes retailers that sell a jackpot winning prize through a tiered approach, which is based on the size of the jackpot-winning ticket they sell. If the jackpot is $1 million or more, the Lottery’s staff and the Intralot sales team go to selling location with the Lottery-branded van. They hand out snacks and allow attendees to spin the wheel for a prize, which include swag and gift cards.

An Almost Endless Variety

Many of these strategies employ multiple touchpoints – promotions at retail are also celebrated across a Lottery’s social media channels, for example. Social media also provides opportunities to go deeper into the weeds than may be feasible through other programs.

For example, the Arizona Lottery has taken to social media to specifically highlight independent retailers, showcasing their unique spaces and acknowledging their crucial contribution to the Lottery’s operations.

And the Massachusetts Lottery uses short-form videos on social media to highlight the communities that host its retail agents, featuring agent locations that have sold top prizes.

During National Lottery Week, the Pennsylvania Lottery launched a special recognition story featuring Ryan’s Deli, a family-owned retailer in Pike County that has been a part of the PA Lottery retailer network since 2017. Ryan’s Deli goes above and beyond by partnering with the Pike County Area Agency on Aging to prepare and deliver thousands of meals each week to local senior centers and homebound seniors. This work is made possible in part through funding from Pennsylvania Lottery proceeds, which directly support senior programs across the state including services such as meals, transportation, prescription assistance, and senior centers.

Spotlighting Ryan’s Deli with a video production on Vimeo is just one example of how Pennsylvania's retailers help advance the Lottery’s mission to benefit older Pennsylvanians, demonstrating that their impact extends far beyond ticket sales and deeply supports their local communities.

Lotteries may also hold contests for their retailers. The Arizona Lottery held two activations and sales contests during FY25, and they received so much positive feedback and high engagement from both the Lottery’s sales staff and the retailers that four similar contests are scheduled for FY26. One contest was held during the holiday ticket launch last year, and the other was for the launch of the $50 game Luxe, which included a planogram change to encourage retailers to add a third $50 game in their product mix. Both retail staff and the Lottery’s sales staff received prizes in the contests.

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Many retailers organize celebrations or parties at retail locations for specific purposes, either to just spread awareness of the games or to educate players in how to play a new game – Keno parties have been common in the industry. WyoLotto has effectively used Keno parties to continue education on the relatively new game in its market.

Loto-Québec has organized an annual event, held at one of its casinos, that brings retailers and the sales force together to exchange ideas.

Among its other retailer recognition programs, the North Carolina Education Lottery’s Retail Advisory Panel is an opportunity for the most engaged retailers to serve in a different capacity. The panel, which meets twice a year and advises the Lottery on all retail aspects, includes two members from each of the Lottery’s sales regions. Members engage with top Lottery leaders, giving feedback and presenting concerns about lottery matters in their stores. “The N.C. Education Lottery plays a major role in North Carolina’s retail economy,” notes Director of Sales Daniel Rose. “The recognition these retailers get from serving on the advisory panel of a multi-billion-dollar sales organization elevates their status in our state’s retail community. Ultimately, the exchange of ideas and best practices drives higher performance both for our retail partners and for the lottery.”