AI-based lottery slip recognition for tablets at lottery sales points

adesso has developed software designed to recognise lottery slips automatically using cloud and AI technology for Westdeutsche Lotterie GmbH & Co. OHG (WestLotto). The software, optimised for use on handy tablet computers and the first of its kind on the market, will allow lottery players to hand in their slips at smaller sales points that do not have the space for conventional lottery terminals. WestLotto is set to roll out the practical tablet solution across its sales points in North Rhine-Westphalia from early 2023. The new software is being unveiled to the international lottery industry at the World Lottery Summit in Vancouver, which begins on 16 October. ​

Tablets have been in use at smaller WestLotto sales points in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. WestLotto uses the handy, space-saving devices as an alternative to large lottery terminals in stores, with one downside: customers can only play the lottery by the salesperson entering their numbers directly, by choosing a set of random “lucky dip” numbers or by using WestLotto’s digital service. Without a scanning function, the tablet terminals cannot read or process paper slips. The new software changes all this. From next year, it is expected that customers will be able to play the lottery by filling out a conventional lottery coupon at smaller sales points, such as newspaper kiosks, small beverage stores and bakeries, too. Using the software developed by adesso for WestLotto tablets, lottery slips can be scanned directly at the sales point.

Andreas Luckmann heads the sales department in the Lottery business unit at adesso: “The adesso solution for lottery ticket recognition relies on cloud and AI technologies in combination with machine learning methods.” (Copyright: private)

“Tablet-based lottery slip recognition is a challenging task,” explains Andreas Luckmann, who heads up lottery business at adesso. “Conventional terminals feature a feed-in scanner that takes in the lottery slip, smooths it out if it is creased and reads the numbers selected by the player. Tablets don’t have such scanners, and so have to determine the numbers on the lottery slip using a photo. The adesso solutions combines cloud and AI technologies with machine learning methods. The selected lottery numbers are correctly interpreted using AI algorithms.”

Michael Stücker is Head of IT Development at WestLotto that “has been relying on adesso’s technical know-how and lottery expertise for many years”. (Copyright: WestLotto)​

Michael Stücker is head of the IT development department at WestLotto and has been working with IT service provider adesso for years: “We have relied on the wealth of technical know-how and lottery expertise at adesso since 1999. After adesso’s successful design and realisation of our online lottery portal for our customers, we have now joined forces again to implement lottery slip recognition on our Android tablets. We have created a fully fledged alternative to conventional terminals, with slips able to be scanned and processed using the tablet’s camera function.”

WestLotto will be presenting the tablets with the new solution together with adesso at the adesso booth at the World Lottery Summit, which takes place between 16 and 20 October in Vancouver, Canada. Alongside its successful multi-channel sales platform LotteryForce, adesso will also be showcasing another new solution adessoDraws, the electronic lottery number drawing system that is based on blockchain technology and open source algorithms.

New partner Fennica Gaming, a subsidiary of Finland’s national lottery provider Veikkaus, will also be present at the adesso booth to demonstrate the online scratch card solution (elnstants) developed in partnership with adesso’s LotteryForce system.