Someone correct me if I'm wrong. But I suspect "validation" is a process that takes place at Lottery HQ where they actually "examine" the ticket to make certain it's genuine. BTW, I always check my tickets online. So far, the only tickets I've ever had are losers of low cash-prize winners. I used to take my tickets into a convenience store that had a machine in the customer area ... where customers could scan a ticket barcode themselves. I only saw 2 responses in the LED window when I did this ... NOT A WINNER ... or ... SEE CASHIER. And whenever I got a SEE CASHIER response, I always signed the ticket first. Healthy paranoia perhaps (grin) - but I've always thought a clerk might say, "Congratulations ... it's a $3 winner." They'd pay me the $3 - then, after I left the store, they could sign the ticket themselves and cash in on a multimillion dollar jackpot (grin).
But now, I check all my tickets online. NOT A WINNER and SEE CASHIER might not be the only 2 responses from the machine, after all. I could envision scanning a jackpot winning ticket in the machine ... and the machine responding with flashing lights and an audio of "We're In The Money," as the machine announced - YOU'VE WON THE BIG JACKPOT - to everyone in the store. If I won a big jackpot, I'd want to keep the news about it much quieter (grin).
FWIW, I did an online article on jackpot winning titled, "Lucky You" - dedicated to info and scenarios for winners who want to retain as much of their anonimity and privacy is possible. It's currently undergoing a major overhaul. Anyway, since I can make free phone calls anywhere in the U.S. (and a few foreign countries), I called a number of lottery agencies (and emailed others) to gleen info from them for the article. And, I'll share one horror story from that article - a story passed on to me by Chip Polston, a lottery exec for the Kentucky Lottery Corporation.
A major winner in Kentucky wanted to retain his anonimity. He requested that the Lottery Corporation only release info on him that was required by law. Kentucky complied. However, every time someone wins a jackpot (in any state), the retailer selling the ticket gets a bonus for selling it. The retailer who sold the winning ticket got the bonus check. Along with it, he got information on the winning ticket (including the ticket's barcode number). He then used his own lottery ticket terminal (and the ticket's barcode number) to find the date and time of day when he'd sold the winning ticket. Once he'd determined that, he went to his store's surveillance video archives to see sales activity at that day/time. And when he saw the winner buying his ticket, he said to himself, "Hey, I know that guy." The next time the winner came into that convenience store, the retailer "congratulated" him in front of everyone else in the store - some of whom also knew the winner. (sigh) So much for his anonimity.
Since then, I've only bought tickets from vending machines - or at stores where no one knows me.
P.S. - I'd post a link to the online article ... but the site doesn't allow newcomers (I'm a newcomer?) to post links.
Regards - J. Alec West
