(Austin, TX) People all across the Lone Star State enjoy playing the Texas Lottery and we know this because they hold us up when we're going to pay for gas any time you go the convenience store while they perusing the offerings of tickets.

That's why I, for one, was glad that the lottery came out with self serve vending machines so players can take all the time in the world to figure which lucky ticket to buy or pick their winning numbers in any of the games like Powerball and Mega Millions.

There was one BIG problem with the vending machines and the Texas Lottery has fixed that issue.

On Dec. 30, 2024, age verification was implemented on all lottery ticket self-service vending machines across the state.

Of course by law, players must be 18 years or older to purchase Texas Lottery tickets. But the vending machines had no way to verify that a player was of legal age to play.

Under this added measure, players seeking to purchase scratch tickets or draw game tickets from lottery vending machines, which are available at select retail locations, are now required to scan their government-issued photo ID at the machine.

The new age verification feature is intended to help retailers better monitor the vending machines to prevent underage purchases.

To ensure compliance with the minimum age requirements, transactions can only be conducted after the machine verifies the player is 18 years or older using a valid and unexpired ID.

At this time, the machines are able to read the (PDF417) barcode located on the back of most state-issued IDs using the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) verification system.

No data from the ID is collected or stored and the process is strictly for age verification according to a press release from The Texas Lottery.

Retailers are frequently reminded that it is an offense (Class C misdemeanor) to intentionally or knowingly sell or offer to sell a lottery ticket to a person the retailer knows is younger than 18 years old.

Additionally, retailers are not authorized to pay a prize claimed by a minor or by an adult presenting a prize winning ticket on behalf of a minor. Violation of these laws and rules will result in an investigation and may lead to revocation of the retailer’s lottery sales license.