Retailer Recruitment Opportunities

NASPL Insights Online

Published August 19, 2025

Lotteries rely on their retail partners for most, if not all, of their sales. Yet the retail world is changing, and lotteries need to adapt. They need to be agile, responding to the individual needs of their current retailers, and the retailers they hope to attract.

Self-service units are certainly an important part of many lotteries’ recruiting efforts, although even those may be more than some retailers want to manage. They take up precious floor space and require time and attention to keep them filled.

We asked lotteries about their recruitment strategies – how they find and attract potential new retailers. As you browse their edited responses below, you’ll see a lot of common threads. Yet you’ll also see a number of more unusual efforts to reach new types of retailers. As always, we thank the responding lotteries for sharing their ideas.

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Arizona Lottery

Our past recruitment efforts, such as the Quick Draw launch campaign, involved a strategic partnership with the Arizona Restaurant Association (ARA). This included digital outreach via email and physical mailers to ARA members. The email campaign achieved a 35.7% open rate, meeting ARA’s engagement benchmark, and resulted in nine new retail license applications. We also collaborated with the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association (ALBA), hosting a webinar for their members to demonstrate how the Lottery can support and grow their businesses.

Moving forward, we’ve identified that collaborating with membership-based organizations like the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance (AFMA), ALBA, and ARA allows us to effectively reach high-quality leads. This approach also enables us to successfully integrate Lottery products into non-traditional business models. These collaborations offer additional benefits by building thought leadership and strengthening community outreach, with Arizona Lottery leadership presenting at various association meetings and the lottery supporting mutual beneficiaries.

British Columbia Lottery Corp.

BCLC’s business development team is focused on finding and executing on expansion opportunities in both traditional and non-traditional channels.

For traditional channels (for example, the hospitality network), our teams reach out to and work with pubs or bars that might not have considered us as an option or have not had the opportunity to apply. To support this work, we’ve developed “prospecting kits” that helps our Territory Managers present the opportunity; so far, we’ve received positive feedback. 

Examples of expansion into non-traditional channels include bringing on Costco as a retailer to sell instant tickets and introducing Lotto Express at Dollarama checkouts.

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California Lottery

When it comes to recruitment, we see potential for growth in both new and traditional retail types within our jurisdiction. An exciting area of expansion we’ve been exploring is the integration of electric vehicle charging stations. Many businesses are creatively expanding their services in this space, including the development of lounge-style convenience stores. Our recruitment team is always on the lookout for opportunities to place our products in these innovative environments, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve.

Additionally, we’ve found success in targeting ethnic supermarkets. As California experiences a growing demand for grocery expansion among various ethnic groups, we closely monitor this trade style and maintain open communication with corporate contacts. This approach has allowed us to effectively tap into these markets and foster strong relationships with retailers.

This California Lottery retailer is a combination c-store, lounge and EV charging station.

Colorado Lottery

We are currently utilizing four full time recruiters through our SGEP contract with Scientific Games. In fiscal year 2025 we added a net total of 91 retailers. The target is liquor stores, as we have over 1,800 in Colorado and only 560 are currently licensed and selling Lottery products. We are also targeting non-traditional retailers like dispensaries and laundromats. We have tripled our vending inventory with our new contract with Brightstar and are using those as part of our recruiting tool box.

Other strategies include eliminating sales minimums for retailers and the number of scratch games we require a retailer to carry. We have offered longer terms going from 60 days to 90 days for the first year a newly recruited retailer is licensed. A newly recruited retailer also gets a $100 bonus if they remain a retailer for a year after being licensed and selling Lottery products. We are also seeing huge growth in corporate account expansion through new builds.

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Florida Lottery

Retailer recruitment continues to be a top priority for our sales team and there are many opportunities for business development in Florida. Non-traditional retailers, such as bars, restaurants and airports, have huge potential. In these locations, we have an opportunity to reach segments that we aren’t touching at convenience and grocery, where many consumers have completely shifted away from in-person shopping. We know that vending machines are important component of attracting new trade styles, and we’ve been successful in securing those through the legislative process and leverage those tools as part of our recruitment strategy.

Idaho Lottery

Idaho has seen a tremendous boom in population since COVID, and with that growth comes additional housing and business development. Support services to handle the growth is also on the rise. Increases have been seen in places like C-stores and grocery store outlets. These traditional retail outlets are where we are experiencing the largest growth in our retailer base. In addition, we have also seen an increase in age-controlled environment retailers (bars and lounges) for our Tabs product line.

We are not currently looking at new industry channels, but rather we are focused on improving service quality for our traditional lottery retailers. The major change we’ve made is the addition of vending machines to about 20% of our retail base, especially penetrating the C-store market. We still offer in-counter sales at C-stores, but vending machines do free up clerks, which makes operations better for the store while increasing ticket facings and sales. We have also been improving the maintenance and issuance of our POS at retail locations – keeping everything current and fresh also helps with our business relations.

One challenge we are facing is the constant change of ownership with large key account retail chains. Our older, small, family-owned and operated retail chains are continuously being bought and sold.  Subsequently, many of these mid-sized retail companies who purchase the smaller chains then sell these properties to large conglomerates. These changes have been smooth from our perspective; they just create additional paperwork for us.

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Kentucky Lottery

We continue to look for every opportunity to expand our retail base. This dovetails into our mission to increase sales so that we are providing more proceeds for the scholarships and grants we fund to create educational pathways for Kentucky students. Each of our Territory Sales Managers (TSMs), which are our field representatives, are required to perform two “cold calls” or follow-up visits with potential new retailers monthly. They also monitor retailers who currently do not sell lottery but may be good candidates.

The team focuses on traditional retailers as well as social establishments such as bars, bowling alleys and restaurants. Periodically, we conduct a recruiting “blitz” that is done on a specific day, and the TSMs will focus solely on recruiting. For any retailer they sign up and the retailer becomes an active retailer, the TSM is monetarily compensated.

Loto-Québec

There are definitely opportunities out there and we are indeed actively working on solutions to onboard “new-to-us” retailers. Some of them do not want to carry a traditional lottery terminal or don’t have the foot traffic to justify a terminal, while others are migrating their in-store activities and operations to self-serve checkouts. To sum up, yes, Loto-Québec is actively building relationships with non-traditional retailers, those that are different from the C-store, grocery and drugstore categories.

Maryland Lottery

Lottery recruitment efforts have typically looked at traditional retailer categories like convenience and grocery stores, tobacco shops and liquor stores. Over time, some of the retailers in these categories have expanded into popular chains that have produced large volumes of stores across certain areas. In Maryland, we’ve seen the chain presence increase steadily over the years. Some are local/regional chains like Giant Food, Royal Farms, Sheetz and Wawa. Larger, more well-known chains like Walmart and 7-Eleven have also continued to increase their market share. With most chains having already seen the value of partnering with the Lottery, it’s important for us to look at other avenues for recruitment opportunities.

We’ve seen a rise in non-traditional stores, bars, restaurants and gaming/entertainment businesses that have food/service offerings and are successfully attracting customers because they offer something new and different. We’ve been looking at gastropubs, food halls, axe-throwing venues, niche restaurants or stores with special food offerings, and gaming centers. By having our recruitment staff continuing to grow the traditional retailers, while also focusing on these emerging segments, we set ourselves up for growth opportunities and ensure that we continue evolve our approach toward retaining current customers and attracting new ones. Some new retail establishments have unique offerings to help set themselves apart from other places, whether they are chains or are independently owned. Maryland will continue to support the growth of its current retailers and recruit new types of retailers that will allow us to broaden our distribution.

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Massachusetts Lottery

While the Mass Lottery already has established a strong network of traditional lottery retailers, such as grocery stores, liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations, we are always looking for new opportunities. We frequently monitor the ABCC list of new liquor licenses as well as browse through local chamber of commerce lists of retailers to reach out and discuss the benefits of being a lottery retailer.

Our retail strategy requires a balanced focus on new recruitment and expanding out network environments, like recruiting larger chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Price Rite, while still finding creative and strategic ways to maximize revenue at our existing retailers, especially high-traffic locations where there is still untapped potential. To offset concerns some larger chains may have about maintaining inventory due to staffing challenges, the Lottery is responsible for restocking the self-service machines at certain chains. We are continuing to find more ways to manage this concern for retail agents.

Michigan Lottery

New retailer acquisition has been a major initiative of ours for 2025. Our Sales Team has focused on retailer recruitment by cold calling local, mostly traditional retailers in their respective territories.  Waiving the application fees was a driving force in the success of this initiative. The relationships we have with various trade organizations have resulted in key introductions and direct access to their members for recruiting purposes. We have partnered with our vendors in efforts to acquire big box, national chains and “new to you” retail types. This collaborative approach allows us to provide broader market research and data to potential retailers who are entering the lottery business for the first time.

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Missouri Lottery

Expansion opportunities still exist for traditional retailers. C-store retailers who meet calendar year sales thresholds qualify for a ticket vending machine in their location, in addition to their existing counter dispenser(s). These help lighten the load on counter staff, offer another sales point onsite, and increase the number of ticket facings. Digital menu boards are actively being added at retail to increase sales. They enhance visual appeal, and attract both new players and new retailers. And route service sales have been piloted, and this practice may be an opportunity in the future. We’ve had positive sales during this small pilot project, but we can’t proceed at this time due to existing state-mandated staffing restrictions.

Expansion opportunities also exist for social retailers. Our “Raise ’Em Right” (RER) program provides support for establishments launching Keno and demonstrating best practices right out of the gate. It incentivizes new social retailers with a 9-week sales average credit, and includes a start-up promotional box and on-site promotion. And placing ticket vending machines in social retail environments allows us to reach players with more product – adding Scratchers to their existing draw game sales, increasing the number of statewide ticket facings, and helping take Keno ticket sales pressure off bar staff by providing another selling location onsite.

Montana Lottery

We are successfully growing are retailer network by targeting both traditional and new locations. We’ve seen significant success in increasing both scratch ticket sales and the placement of Lottery and Sports Bet Montana terminals within bars. We’re also innovatively expanding into non-traditional spots like stores selling pre-made meals.

Our recruitment strategy centers on demonstrating value to potential retailers. We highlight commissions and bonuses, emphasize how Lottery products create additional value for existing customers, and stress the importance of meeting customer needs to keep them from going elsewhere. This dual approach of strategic location targeting and value-driven recruitment has proven highly effective.

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New Hampshire Lottery

Fortunately, NH has an excellent retailer density with one retailer per every 950 people or so. We always have opportunity to recruit retailers for KENO 603; however, with local adoption and a challenging licensing process, there are some barriers to this. Fortunately, we are addressing all the barriers and hope to see much growth in this area over the next two years. Additionally, our roadmap includes the integration of our retail partners as affiliates for the iLottery program in the coming one or two years. This will help us align with our overall strategy of blurring the line between iLottery and retail for our players.

New Jersey Lottery

We feel that there are certainly opportunities to recruit additional retailers in New Jersey. In most cases these would be the “new to lottery” retailers, specifically large chains or corporate accounts. Examples would be Walgreen’s, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Dunkin and Target, among others. Strategies include a dual-pronged approach: groups working from the bottom up and from the top down. Our Business Development Associates are working at the store level to target individuals with P&L responsibility, such as store management, District or Regional Managers. Their goal is to create buzz at the store level, so when regional or corporate meetings are taking place, the idea of selling lottery surfaces. Senior Northstar management works from the top down, by reaching out and making contact with the actual corporate decision makers. Hopefully between the two tactics enough buzz is created to have fruitful discussions. We have had some success using this strategy.

When it comes to the larger chains or corporate accounts, we try to offer solutions more so than incentives. For example, in New Jersey we can offer a route service model that reduces labor costs for potential retailers. One of the many challenges faced by brick-and-mortar retailers – and one of the biggest objections by large chains – is the amount of time it takes to load tickets in a lottery vending machine. With the route model, the sales rep handles the ordering process as well as the loading and unloading (game end), thus reducing costs.

For Quick Draw (Keno bars and restaurants) we have offered a lifecycle incentive program where new locations can earn an incentive for achieving various sales thresholds during the first 12 weeks of selling. As part of that incentive is a sign on bonus of $250.

North Carolina Education Lottery

The N.C. Education Lottery began this fiscal year with 7,140 retailers, and we believe we can continue to expand our base of lottery retailers. Some additions will come with growth in our state – as North Carolina grows, so do the number of stores from our existing grocery and C-store partners. New retailers are entering our state too, giving us added chances to grow. Wawa, for example, opened its first North Carolina store in May 2024 and continued its expansion over the last year.

We especially see more opportunities with non-traditional trade styles. We plan to add other Keno retailers with bars and restaurants and other social places, such as VFW lodges. For the first time, we have created two new Sales Manager positions, one on each side of our state, who will focus solely on recruitment. Face-to-face recruitment usually works best. We also go to places we haven’t gone before, such as trade associations that represent non-traditional retailers. For example, we attended the annual VFW Department Convention in North Carolina last year, and that led to the recruitment of additional VFW posts as lottery retailers.

We think between the growth that North Carolina enjoys and with strategic recruitment efforts by our sales team, we’ll have more retailers when we end this year than when we started.

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Ohio Lottery

We make a point of recruiting both independent and chain accounts, and we use data to support our recruitment strategy. When potential retailers learn the potential sales they can expect compared to other retailers in their trade channel and market, they are encouraged to join us. These are fundamental practices for recruiting retailers of all types. We have a dedicated page for potential retailers on our website.

Oklahoma Lottery

There are still opportunities to expand our retailer network, particularly in non-traditional segments. While we’ve previously explored options like smoke shops and liquor stores, these locations have typically generated lower lottery sales. That said, we believe potential remains in the non-traditional space – we just haven’t yet found the right retail fits that align with our goals.

One area where we’ve seen notable success is grocery. While grocery stores aren’t always considered traditional lottery retailers, they’ve proven to be strong performers – especially when self-service machines are installed. The key to success in these environments often comes down to store-level engagement: Are employees promoting the equipment? Is it well-stocked and in a high-traffic area for impulse purchases? Are they willing to cash tickets? When the retailer is truly invested in the partnership, we tend to see much stronger results. To help with this, we are always focused on clear communication, thorough training and consistent follow up.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming

There are still opportunities to expand in the Ontario marketplace. The traditional lottery locations are limited and saturated, but new channels and opportunities are available in Quick Service restaurants (Pizza Pizza, etc.), Mass Merchandise (Walmart, Canadian Tire, Dollarama, etc.), Transit (Metrolinx, Onroute, Airports), at work (warehouses, manufacturing, etc.), hospitals, and through new partners like Adaria, a leading provider of unattended retail solutions, such as vending machines and micromarkets.

We use many recruitment strategies, including having a Senior Manager focusing on recruitment; cold call prospecting (in person/ LinkedIn); referrals; a sales team prospecting program; weekly prospecting meetings; trade shows; and our ILC partners thinking nationally and bringing new accounts to the group.

What we have learned is that there isn’t one strategy that works for all channels or opportunities. Every account is individual and we need to cater our approach to their needs and expectations. The accounts that are new to us, like Pizza Pizza or The Beer Store, have shown us that their customers have different shopping patterns and needs than our traditional customers. This allows us to leverage different OLG technologies like self-service terminals and our multilane solutions. As we become more successful in these new areas, we see other new opportunities and continue to grow that way.

Therefore, we have to stay flexible and adapt to new ways of thinking about OLG’s place in a changing marketplace. We can’t approach all retail with a single retail model, and are developing new models and processes constantly to allow lottery products to fit in new and exciting markets.

Pennsylvania Lottery

We are always looking for opportunities to grow our network of lottery retailers in Pennsylvania, whether that means adding more traditional locations or expanding into new business types like bars, taverns, civic clubs, and other nontraditional outlets where we see potential to reach new players. These businesses help us reach broader audiences through monitor games like Keno and Derby Cash Horse Racing. We provide specific incentives and ongoing support to keep these partners engaged and successful.

One unique approach we’ve developed is our Route Sales Program, which allows us to manage the product directly on behalf of the retailer. This model has been successful in locations where traditional retailer engagement has been limited, and we’re now looking to expand the program to larger big box stores that have historically been hesitant to sell lottery through traditional methods. By handling the operations ourselves, we remove barriers for participation and open the door to new retail partnerships.

We use a mix of strategies that vary by retailer type, including direct outreach, partnerships with trade associations, and referrals from our existing network. Our sales team works closely with prospective retailers to show them how Lottery products can fit their business and provides ongoing support to help them succeed. To encourage growth, we do offer a Retailer Incentive Program that rewards retailers for increasing sales and adopting best practices, such as expanding counter facings, creating winner awareness areas, and enhancing signage. Retailers can earn quarterly bonuses throughout the year by meeting program goals.

Focusing on recruiting new retail types, supporting product distribution, enhancing point-of-sale presence, and innovating through programs like route sales helps us compete effectively in one of the most saturated gaming markets in the country.

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Texas Lottery

Through our relationships with the lottery operator, Brightstar, national industry organizations and the retail community, the agency works to understand the unique challenges faced by existing and potential lottery retailers. We identify and implement solutions within our regulatory framework that ensure the security and integrity of the Lottery while addressing the needs of retail businesses. These include:

• Receipt Ticket: In 2019, the Texas Lottery worked with H-E-B Food Stores to test and introduce Receipt Ticket, Powerball and Mega Millions Quick Pick tickets printed at checkout lanes on plain, cash register receipt paper.

• Automated Scratch Ticket Dispensers: The Texas Lottery is gaining acceptance for and placing automated scratch ticket dispensers, SCiQ and easyVEND, in retail locations. These systems display the tickets available for purchase and allow for the sales of scratch tickets with or without a lottery terminal. These attributes and an emphasis on the dispensers’ physical security requirements limit retailer liability due to theft.

• Ticket-by-ticket: In 2023, H-E-B introduced ticket-by-ticket activation for scratch tickets, providing robust accounting and enhanced security with or without the use of a traditional lottery sales terminal.

• QUICKTICKET: Introduced in November 2019 for the sales of Powerball and Mega Millions. Merchandised like a gift card, QUICKTICKET provided players the convenience of a scratch ticket type product by concealing pre-printed Quick Pick numbers under a removable scratch surface. However, certain game changes implemented on the Mega Millions game in April 2025 posed challenges to the QUICKTICKET product, and QUICKTICKETs were ultimately discontinued. Currently, additional opportunities for implementation are not being pursued, but the product successfully introduced lottery to Dollar General in Texas for a period of time.

These initiatives and recruitment strategies resulted in a net increase of 399 licensed locations to the retailer base in FY2024 compared to FY2023. Additional opportunities for expansion of in-lane sales into traditional and non-traditional retail environments are actively being explored. The agency continues to work with the lottery operator, scratch ticket vendors and NASPL to look for opportunities to introduce and expand in-lane opportunities with interested retailers.

Virginia Lottery

We continue to identify new opportunities to expand our retailer base, both in traditional brick-and-mortar settings and within social establishments, such as bars, taverns, restaurants and bowling alleys. While we’re seeing steady growth in traditional retail, that momentum is largely driven by new openings from corporate partners, rather than independent retailers. In parallel, we’re proactively exploring opportunities to expand into other retail sectors, including hotels, transportation hubs (such as train and bus stations and airports), shopping malls, and major retail chains like Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Aldi, and Lidl. By initiating conversations with these organizations, we aim to position the Lottery as a strategic value-add that aligns with and enhances their overarching business objectives.

Recognizing the high potential within social establishments, we’ve created a specialized team within the Sales Department to recruit and manage this trade style. This newly formed team includes an on-premise manager overseeing three sales consultants and a sales analyst, all focused on growing our footprint in this space. With hundreds of eligible venues across the Commonwealth, each new partnership contributes additional incremental revenue and diversifies our retail ecosystem.

We’ve implemented a variety of recruitment strategies, including targeted incentives and promotions to attract new retailers and equip new accounts with the tools they need for long-term success. However, our approach is far from one-size-fits-all. We recognize that trying to fit a round peg into a square hole simply doesn’t work in this industry any longer. Given our reliance on traditional grocery and convenience stores, it’s essential that we continue developing strategies specific to each trade style. What works for corporate grocery chains and convenience stores doesn’t translate to social establishments. These venues typically want to avoid bulky equipment, implementing scratch ticket reconciliation processes, or high-volume cash handling. This makes traditional retail setups impractical in their environments. Instead, social establishments value low-maintenance solutions, digital or streamlined transactions, space-saving equipment, and minimal setup.

When we launched Keno and began recruiting social establishments, our initial strategy was to install vending equipment in every location. For venues without space for vending, we offered scratch tickets at the bar as an alternative. These establishments were supported and managed similarly to grocery and convenience stores in terms of product placement and operational support. However, over time, it became clear that this approach wasn’t meeting the needs of many potential retailers. We encountered frequent pushback from businesses that didn’t want to accommodate bulky vending machines or manage the complexities of selling physical scratch tickets – because it simply didn’t align with their business model. In response, we adapted our strategy to better suit the environment and expectations of social establishments. Today, we offer a streamlined setup: a GameTouch Draw terminal and a monitor for Keno draws. This model has proven to be a more compatible and appealing option for these venues. Of course, if a new retailer expresses interest in vending and scratch ticket products, we’re happy to explore those options with them.  

Beyond equipment, we often make strategic concessions to simplify logistics and limit retailer involvement. For example, at the Richmond Airport, we rent space and serve as the retailer ourselves, managing all lottery operations. In this model, vending machines accept debit only, eliminating the need for our sales reps to handle cash or make deposits. Similarly, we have the CVS model, known as the full-service route-managed model, where we operate as the retailer and compensate the store with a flat rate, supplemented by a sliding scale for high-performing locations.

WyoLotto

Wyoming is a large, rural state with a small population, so we are limited to the number of retailers we can recruit without experiencing oversaturation. However, when we launched WyoLotto Keno, it opened an opportunity to recruit a new type of retailer, including bars, taverns and fraternal organizations, that we would not have been able to do with our other draw products. During the product development phase, we utilized our staff and our gaming partner, Intralot, to conduct recruitment efforts. Those included forums throughout the state and direct sales calls to explain the Lottery, the Keno product, and the benefits of being a WyoLotto retailer. One of our most successful tactics was a $1,000 bonus for potential retailers to complete the necessary steps to become a lottery retailer. This really helped motivate retailers to speed up the sign-up process. Through the addition of Keno, we were able to recruit approximately 150 new retailers.