Seventeen questions. Seventeen sourced answers.
October 12, 2026 · updated November 2, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 9-minute read
Since July 1, 2026, a winning ticket from a Class B machine may be redeemed only for replays, lottery products, a non-reloadable gift card, or a reloadable gift card. Only the winning ticket amount goes on a gift card, it is put on the card at the store, and the card can never be turned into cash. The seventeen answers below come from the law, the Lottery’s own documents and the Georgia Amusement Journal, with the source under each one.
Since July 1, 2026, a Georgia store with Class B machines can redeem a winning ticket only four ways. Two of them are gift cards. Here are the questions Store Owners, clerks and Master Licensees ask about those cards, with the source under every answer.
Four things. Nothing else.
Replays, lottery products, a non-reloadable gift card, or a reloadable gift card. The law says “no other form of redemption shall be allowed” for a Class B machine.
A store does not have to offer both lottery products and gift cards. The Lottery’s notice says a store “may choose to offer lottery products, gift cards, or both as prize redemption options.”
Yes.
Since July 1, 2026, the four-way list is the only list for Class B machines. The Lottery’s notice calls the change one “required by state law.”
The law gives a store “a warning for the first violation.” After that come civil penalties.
No. The store picks one, or both.
The Lottery’s notice on the July 1 changes says: “Offering both is not required and is solely at the discretion of the business owner or operator.”
A store that is a Lottery retailer may give lottery products. A store that is not yet set up for gift cards “will need to independently research and establish a relationship with a gift card provider,” the notice says.
No.
Merchandise is not on the list. Neither is gas. At the Lottery’s COAM Advisory Board meeting on July 21, 2026, the COAM Division reported that some locations were unaware that “gas and merchandise giveaways were no longer permitted.”
A gift card is a legal redemption. Later, the customer may use the card to buy “lawful goods and services,” as the Lottery’s September 16, 2026 letter puts it.
No. The law names no company.
The law sets rules for the card, not for a company. The Lottery’s notice tells a store that is not yet set up for gift cards to “independently research and establish a relationship with a gift card provider.” Rule 13.1.13(1) says the Lottery “does not endorse any products or services promoted by other commercial ventures.”
The law defines a gift card by what it does. It is “an electronic payment device or system” that is good at “a single merchant or service provider or multiple merchants or service providers.”
Only if the card is the kind that works at more than one store.
Georgia law allows two kinds of gift card. One works at one store. One works at many stores. The law calls them a card for “a single merchant” and a card for “multiple merchants.”
A store’s own gift card works only at the store that gave it. The customer comes back to spend it there.
With both kinds, the amount goes on the card at the store that gave it. Neither kind can ever become cash.
Never.
Not at the register, not at an ATM, not through a cash app, and not by moving the value to a bank account. The law says the card “shall not be exchanged for cash, change, or currency.”
The Lottery said it again on September 16, 2026. The cards “cannot be used to obtain cash in any manner, whether in whole or in part.” The same letter says a store “may not provide cash back.” More on this is on our page about what cash redemption means.
A reloadable card can be filled again. A non-reloadable card is used once.
Both kinds are legal. With either kind, only a winning ticket amount can go on the card. The law says no value goes on a card “unless such value has been won by the player” on the machine.
The store, its employees, or a self-service device. At the store only.
The law says the card is loaded “only on the location licensee’s premises and only by the location licensee or its employees on such premises or by a self-service gift card redemption device on such premises.”
Lawful goods and services. Never cash.
The law says the card is good for “any goods or services which a successful player is entitled or permitted by law to purchase.” The Lottery’s September 16, 2026 letter says players may use the cards “to purchase lawful goods and services.”
The Lottery’s FAQ for Location License Holders says: “No alcohol, tobacco, or firearms can be redeemed as COAM prizes.” The FAQ for the Lottery’s own gift card pilot program said that card “is not allowed for purchase of alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.”
The card can never be turned into cash. That rules out cash back, an ATM, a cash app, and a transfer to a bank account.
The law says what the card does, not what it is made of.
The law calls a gift card “an electronic payment device or system,” so the card must be electronic. It must hold only the winning ticket amount. It must get that amount at the store. It must never become cash.
The Lottery’s help line is COAM Retailer Services, 1-800-746-8546.
Yes, if the store is a Lottery retailer.
The Lottery’s notice asks its retailers to “maintain sufficient lottery product inventory to support prize redemption for Class B machines.”
A store that is not a Lottery retailer, and wants to offer lottery products, “should begin the process of applying to become a Lottery retailer,” the notice says. That is an application with the Georgia Lottery.
A self-service device at the store may put the amount on the card. The store still keeps the records and still answers for a wrong redemption.
The law lets a player put the winning ticket amount on a gift card “from a self-service gift card device.” The device may be provided by the store, the Master Licensee, “or both.”
The warning and the civil penalty for a wrong redemption fall on the “location owner or location operator.” Rule 13.1.14(11) says the store keeps records of all its COAM transactions.
The law does not list what a record must hold.
The Lottery’s FAQ says it “encourages location licensees to maintain accurate records showing the forms of redemption used for COAM prizes.”
Rule 13.1.14(11) says each store shall retain records of all its COAM transactions. The rule does not say how the records must be kept.
Five full calendar years, plus this year.
Rule 13.1.14(11) says each store shall retain records of all its COAM transactions “for no less than the last five full calendar years and current year to date.” Our page on how long to keep COAM records has the full rule.
All books, records and supplies about the machines, and what the rules say must be posted.
Between July and September 2026, Lottery inspectors made 2,847 inspections. They wrote 444 warnings and 112 citations. The Georgia Amusement Journal reported those numbers in October 2026.
Rule 13.1.10(4) lets the Lottery’s agents enter a licensed business “at any time” and see “All books, records, and supplies relating to the ownership and/or operation of COAMs.” Rule 13.1.10(5) says a “Failure to cooperate with all aspects of an inspection” is itself a violation.
The rules also say what must be on the wall and on the machines. The original Location License and a copy of the Master License are posted in public view. The Fraud, Abuse and Cash Payout tip-line sign hangs near the Class B machines. Each machine carries a permit sticker on the front. Each Class B machine carries a Play Responsibly decal.
A warning the first time. Then civil penalties that grow with the amount.
The law gives a store “a warning for the first violation” and civil penalties after that, “proportional to any amounts inappropriately redeemed.”
Cash is a separate crime. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-35(g), a person who “gives to any other person money as a reward for the successful play or winning” of a game is guilty of a misdemeanor “of a high and aggravated nature.” Rule 13.1.15(1) adds a fine, a suspended license, a revoked license, and seizure of the machine, “including any proceeds contained in the COAM.”
More answers: what a store can give for a winning ticket · the rules for a COAM gift card · what cash redemption means · what happens if the weekly sweep bounces
Coam Tracker helps a store record each redemption, each gift card issued and each day’s machine totals in one place — see how →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.