At the end of May, Camelot revealed that all pink ticket lottery tickets would soon have QR codes. This is one of the biggest changes to the format of the ticket since the inception of the National Lottery over 20 years ago. QR Codes on Lottery tickets will help people play the way they want in the future, taking advantage of new technology and providing a boost to sales, and therefore prizes. Previously, players had to check their tickets against the numbers on the TV, text services or the web but now, all that is about to change.
What Are QR Codes?
QR codes are a type of bar code that appears on information services, billboards, advertising hoardings and other written material. The QR stands for “Quick Response” and they are essentially universal links, readable by devices that have the relevant software, to go straight to a web-based document, website, page or other material that the user can then view on their mobile device (smartphone, tablet, mini table or anything else that is able to read the data and open a link). It is one of the great new smart based technologies and soon there will be QR codes on lottery tickets.
Why QR Codes on Lottery Tickets?
QR Codes store a great deal of data. Old bar codes could store 30 digits but QR Codes can store over 7,000. This is not a gimmick though. Camelot hopes that putting QR codes on lottery tickets will remove the confusion that many players now have over what they have won – particularly the Millionaire Raffle draws. It is a concern that prizes are going unclaimed because people are unaware that they have won. The inclusion of the QR code will allow players to instantly check whether or not they have won using only their mobile device.