I suppose it's not a really big deal, I guess it's good. But if you dont win anything above a couple hundred i dont see the big deal in signing the tickets.

Plus that's in Ontario, Im nowhere near there so I cant really have input. 

Starting March 15, 2008, Iowa retailers will only be able to check andcash lottery tickets if they have first been signed by the ticketholder.

I wonder if this is going to start happening in other states.

Many Publix supermarkets in Georgia have a self-scanner for customers to check their own tickets without them leaving their hand.  That method would probably cut down on needing a receipt for every ticket scanned.  Maybe it was more cost effective for Iowa to do it that way instead of installing self scanners for all retailers.

i hope so

I don't see how signing the tickets will help.  If it's a $50 winner, could the clerk not just say woo hoo you won $5 and take the rest for him/herself after you leave the store?  If you know how much it won and complain, they could say oops I misread it.  It is $50.  Is the lottery commission going to start calling people and ask if they were paid the correct amount?  They'd have a tough time with mine cuz my signature is illegible.

We have self-checkers here too, but they still don't tell you how much you won.  They just say please see the cashier.   Do those in other states tell you how much?

I'm not sure if they tell you how much here or not.  However, it's easy enough to ask for a printout ticket showing winning numbers on a given day, then checking the back of a play slip for payout amounts  .... after signing and before handing it over to the clerk.

Read the rest of the report -- you get a printed receipt.

If you're not informed enough to know what you won, are you going to know to ask for that receipt?

Absolutely. In the U.S., lottery winnings are taxable as income.

Receipt for you, receipt for retailer, receipt for taxman. 1099-G

I made a comment about this in another thread, a few days ago. 

^{_{Modern "education" teaches a version of history so fictionalized, it should be followed by "TM"}
They're warning me about Osama or whatever. Picture me buying the scam; I say "never!".}

Not the worst change Iowa ever made to it's lottery, but still a big hassle just to protect those that are too lazy to check their own numbers.

I agree.  When I lived in the New York/New Jersersey area a few years back, I used to see the "Latino's" lined up for hours to buy tickets.  I don't think three of them could speak or read English.  All the receipts in the world are useless. If a divorce is not a divorce, when it comes to a whinny wife wanting compensation, then a recipt is as valid as the divorce papers.

Not a bad idea.

There's the key issue. The only people who have a problem are the ones who aren't on the ball enough to take care of themselves. A scanner that only tells you to see a cashier is almost worthless for checking tickets, since the cashier could have done that for you anyway, and it's completly worthless for protecting those who don't know how much they've won.

As far as having to sign the ticket, I suppose retailers will be happy when it stops people from simply handing over a huge stack of tickets to be checked, but I don't see what it will do to stop retailers from lying. The stories I recall seem to be about retailers lying about how much was won, not stealing the ticket outright. Is anyone who would have accepted $10 for an unsigned ticket that won $100 going to know they should get more money just because they signed the ticket?

I agree with you, since that certainly could happen if someone doesn't ask for a receipt. I got a receipt when I won $72.50 in January, but I wasn't asked to sign the ticket.  I guess it would also prevent a clerk or store owner from claiming a big prize at the lottery office, although when my tickets are scanned at Publix, I can see the total due.  Still, if everyone would just check the newspaper, call the lottery or, if they use the internet, check their tickets online, there wouldn't be any thefts. I know a sweet lady in her 80s who waits for a couple of months and then takes all her tickets to the supermarket to be checked. I warned her, but she said to me "They're nice girls." I sometimes wonder if she's one of the people with unclaimed tickets.

When I walk into a store I always say "this is a $5 winner" BEFORE I hand it to the clerk.  I don't think the clerks where I shop are dishonest, however.  If I had a $500 win, I wouldn't want to sign my name.  Also, unless they ask for a photo ID like a driver's license, how do they know it's really your name? 

Sounds time consuming to me.