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One question per post, answered in plain English, with links to the law and the Lottery’s own words. New post every week.
Can a COAM ticket be redeemed for merchandise?
September 23, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 2-minute read
Short answer: no. A customer cannot hand you a ticket and walk out with chips, drinks, or anything off the shelf. Merchandise is not one of the four legal ways — and inspectors know it.
The four ways — and merchandise is not there
Since July 1, 2026, Georgia law allows a COAM ticket to be redeemed only four ways: replays, lottery products, non-reloadable gift cards, or reloadable gift cards. That list comes from House Bill 353. Nothing else is on it. Not cash. Not merchandise.
But there is a legal way to get there
Two steps instead of one:
Step 1
The customer redeems the ticket for your store gift card. That is one of the four legal ways.
Step 2
The customer buys the merchandise with the gift card — like any customer paying at your counter.
Same ending — the customer walks out with what he wanted. But now both steps are in the law, and your records show a clean redemption. One thing to remember: the gift card buys store merchandise only — and it can never become cash.
Why skipping the step is not worth it
Handing merchandise straight for a ticket makes a redemption record that does not match the law. Inspectors check redemption records on every visit. A shortcut that saves ten seconds at the counter can cost you a written warning — or worse. Two steps is the easy way to stay clean.
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Have game machines? You must keep records.
September 23, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 3-minute read
By hand or an app — your pick. There is no choice on keeping records. If COAM machines are in your store, the records go with them. That is the deal.
What you write down
Every redemption. Every single one:
Who
Who redeemed the ticket.
When
The day and the time.
How
Which of the
four legal ways — replays, lottery products, non-reloadable or reloadable gift cards. Never cash.
The ticket
The ticket amount — redeemed one of the four ways above, never as cash.
Why there is no choice
The Lottery has said its inspectors check prize redemption and records on every visit — and they visited 599 locations in July 2026 alone. The day an inspector, the bank, or your Master asks, the records are what you show. A store with its records ready has a short visit. A store without them has a problem.
By hand works — if you really do it
A notebook at the counter is allowed. But it only works if every clerk writes every redemption, every shift, every day — and if you can find last Tuesday when someone asks. Most stores that keep a notebook keep it well for a week. Then it gets busy.
The easy way
Coam Tracker is one tap per ticket. The clerk taps, the record is made — who, when, which way, the ticket amount — and it is ready the day someone asks. Any phone or tablet. English & Español. It helps you keep the records Georgia law asks stores to keep — without the notebook.
Where this comes from
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What happens if my COAM sweep bounces?
September 23, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 3-minute read
Short answer: the state takes its share from your COAM bank account once a week — usually Wednesday. If the money is not there, your machines can be switched off that same day. Bounce again and again, and you can lose the license.
The weekly sweep
Every location has a Sweep Date. On that day, the money owed is pulled from the store’s COAM bank account by itself — nobody calls you first. The full calendar is public: the COAM Location Sweep / Push Calendar on gacoam.com under Documents.
What a bounce (NSF) can cost you
Same day
Your COAM machines — and the Lottery terminal with them — can be switched off until the balance is paid in full.
On a visit
Lottery inspectors can write a citation for the bounce.
Repeat
Bounce more than once in 90 days and the suspensions get longer each time — and can end with the license being taken away. A store with no security deposit on file gets shut off sooner, and must put one up to turn back on.
The COAM Division spelled this out in its September 2026 notice to location license holders, posted with its other notices under gacoam.com → Documents → COAM Communications. The Location License Holder Guide covers the sweep rules too.
The one habit that prevents all of it
Look at the COAM account before every sweep date. That’s it. Once a week, make sure the money is sitting there. If you keep your daily records, you already know what the week took in — so the sweep is never a surprise.
If it already bounced
Pay the balance in full as fast as you can — the machines stay off until it reaches zero. Questions go to COAM Retailer Services at 1-800-746-8546, options 6 and 2.
Where this comes from
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What does a COAM inspector check?
September 23, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 3-minute read
Short answer: inspectors visit stores every month — 599 locations in July 2026 alone. The good news: only 18 got written warnings, and most problems were simple oversights. Here is what they look at, so yours isn’t one of them.
The walk-through
License
Your location license — current, and displayed.
The sign
The required GLC sign posted near the machines.
Decals
Each machine carrying its own current decal — and no more Class B machines than the law allows.
Records
Redemption records. The Lottery has said inspectors check prize redemption and records on every visit. Who redeemed, when, which of the four ways, and the ticket amount.
Redemption
Prizes redeemed only the
four legal ways — replays, lottery products, non-reloadable or reloadable gift cards.
Never cash.Inspectors are out every month
In July 2026 alone, inspectors visited 599 stores. One day they will walk into yours. The stores that got warnings mostly forgot small things — a paper, a sign, a record. Small things still get written up. The stores that pass are ready: license up, sign up, records ready to show right away. Be one of them.
The five-minute self-check
Walk your own store like an inspector once a month: Is the license up? Is the sign up? Does every machine have its decal? Can I show my redemption records for last week — right now? If all four answers are yes, a visit is nothing to fear.
Where this comes from
- Georgia Amusement Journal, August 2026 — 599 inspections, 18 written warnings (GLC COAM Advisory Board, July 21, 2026)
- Georgia Amusement Journal, September 2026 — inspectors check redemption records on every visit
- O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71 and § 50-27-71.1; gacoam.com license-holder guides
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What can a store redeem COAM tickets for?
September 22, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 3-minute read
Short answer: since July 1, 2026, Georgia law gives exactly four ways to redeem a Class B COAM prize. Never cash. Not even a little.
The four things
1
Replays — more play on the machine.
2
Lottery products — Georgia Lottery tickets sold at your store.
3
Non-reloadable gift cards — a gift card you load once.
4
Reloadable gift cards — a gift card you can load again.
That list comes from House Bill 353, which changed O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71 starting July 1, 2026. The Lottery has said the change went smoothly — and that inspectors check prize redemption and records on every visit.
The one thing it can never be
Cash. The law says it plainly: a gift card given for a COAM prize shall not be exchanged for cash, change, or currency — O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1(b). No cash back, no “close enough.” We wrote a whole page on this: the gift card law, in plain English.
What this looks like at the counter
A customer wins and brings you the ticket. You pick from the four ways above — and you make a record of it. Who redeemed, when, which of the four ways, and the ticket amount. Write it by hand or use an app. Your pick. But every ticket needs a record, because that is what the inspector asks to see.
Dates that go with this
License renewal for the 2027 year is due September 28. Gross retail receipts for July–September are due October 20 at gacoam.com. Our News & Dates page keeps the full list current.
Where this comes from
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More answers coming, one each week: why a COAM gift card can never become cash · dates every store should know · city and county COAM rules · what records to keep when the bank asks.
See how Coam Tracker keeps your records → This page shares general information about Georgia law from public sources, with links. It is not legal advice. Coam Tracker helps you keep records. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the Georgia Lottery Corporation or GAMOA.