Only the ticket amount. Never cash.
September 27, 2026 · updated October 29, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 5-minute read
Only the winning ticket amount may go on the card, and it must be put on the card at the store. The customer may use the card away from the store, and the store may take it too. The card can never be exchanged for cash, change, or currency.
In a letter dated September 16, 2026, the Georgia Lottery told COAM license holders it had taken a second look at an earlier position on gift cards.
The September 16 letter says an earlier letter, dated November 19, 2025, had told the industry that once a prize was on a gift card, the Lottery “had no authority to regulate how the gift card was used afterward.” The Lottery’s Legal Department reassessed that view. It found that the view:
“did not fully consider a key requirement in Georgia law stating that COAM gift cards may not be exchanged for cash, change, or currency.”
That requirement sits in one paragraph of Georgia law, next to the other rules for the card.
Since July 1, 2026, a winning ticket from a Class B machine may be redeemed four ways. Two of them are gift cards: one that can be reloaded, and one that cannot. Both are named in the law. O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1(b) sets the rules for the card:
Only the ticket amount. No value may go on the card “unless such value has been won by the player for the successful play of a game” on the machine.
Loaded at the store. The value goes on the card only on the store’s premises. It may be put there by the store, by its employees, or by a self-service gift card device at the store.
Usable away from the store. The card “may be used off the premises.” The store “may” also honor the card when the customer brings it back.
Never cash. The card “shall not be exchanged for cash, change, or currency.”
The next part of the law, § 50-27-71.1(c), says gift cards shall be redeemable or exchangeable for:
“any goods or services which a successful player is entitled or permitted by law to purchase”
The Lottery’s September 16 letter says: “Players may continue to use COAM gift cards to purchase lawful goods and services, but the cards cannot be used as a method to receive cash.”
The Lottery’s COAM FAQ (version 7.0) says: “No alcohol, tobacco, or firearms can be redeemed as COAM prizes.” The FAQ for the Lottery’s own COAM gift card pilot program said that card “is not allowed for purchase of alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.”
The Lottery’s September 16 letter says COAM gift cards:
“cannot be used to obtain cash in any manner, whether in whole or in part”
It adds that COAM locations “may not provide cash back or otherwise facilitate converting the value of a COAM gift card into currency.” Attached to the letter is a September 2, 2026 letter from the Lottery’s General Counsel about ATMs, cash apps and bank transfers. More on both letters is on our page about what cash redemption means.
Yes. A gift card that works only at the store that gave it can be a legal way to redeem a winning ticket from a Class B machine, as long as the card is loaded and used the way Georgia law and the Lottery’s rules require. The law lists gift cards as a legal form of redemption, and it says a gift card can be for “a single merchant.”
What makes the card legal is how it is handled. The law calls a gift card “an electronic payment device or system,” so the card must be electronic. Only the winning ticket amount can go on the card. The amount must be put on the card at the store. The card can never be turned into cash.
The best part of a store gift card: it works only at the store that issued it, so the customer comes back to spend it at your store. That helps build loyal customers.
Store gift cards are allowed today under Georgia law. The Lottery’s proposed rules, dated October 13, 2026, also say: “Store cards are permissible if the card is: (a) Unique to a location; (b) For use only at that licensed location; and (c) Only redeemable at the location in which the accumulated points are awarded by the COAM.”
The law names no gift card company. The Lottery’s notice on the July 1 changes says a store that is not yet set up to give gift cards will need to “independently research and establish a relationship with a gift card provider.”
The Lottery’s Rule 13.1.13(1) also states that “the GLC does not endorse any products or services promoted by other commercial ventures.”
The Lottery has posted proposed updates to its COAM rules on gacoam.com, most recently dated October 13, 2026. They are drafts. They are not in force.
One proposed line would put the cash ban into the Lottery’s rules:
“No gift card, or any portion of the value thereon, awarded for successful play of COAMs may be exchanged for cash directly or indirectly, such as via ATMs and money services, whether at the location where the gift card was awarded or elsewhere.”
The same draft also says:
“Store cards are permissible if the card is: (a) Unique to a location; (b) For use only at that licensed location; and (c) Only redeemable at the location in which the accumulated points are awarded by the COAM.”
Questions about the rules can go to the Lottery’s COAM Retailer Services line at 1-800-746-8546.
Under O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1(b), only the winning ticket amount can go on the card, and it must be put on the card at the store. The customer may use the card away from the store. The card can never be turned into cash.
More answers: what a store can give for a winning ticket · what cash redemption means · the 17-question COAM gift card FAQ.
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.