Every Wednesday. The full amount.
September 23, 2026 · updated November 3, 2026 · Coam Tracker · 5-minute read
Your machines can be switched off. Once a week, usually on Wednesday, the Georgia Lottery pulls the full amount owed from the store’s COAM bank account. If the full amount is not there, the Lottery calls it a bank return. The machines and the Lottery terminal tied to the license can be disabled. A fee is charged for each return. Repeated returns can lead to suspension or the end of the license.
Once a week, the Georgia Lottery takes what it is owed from the COAM bank account of every Class B location in the state. As of October 4, 2026, the Lottery counted 7,469 Location License Holders and 41,619 active Class B machines for the 2027 licensing year.
The Lottery’s guide for Location License Holders puts the matter in one sentence:
“The most basic and important aspect of COAM account management is ensuring there is enough money in your account to cover your sweep transactions.”
The guide adds: “Ultimately, keeping your account in good standing is your responsibility.”
Each store with Class B machines must keep a separate bank account for its COAM proceeds. Lottery Rule 13.1.4(6)(i) says the account is opened in the name of the licensee as “Trustee for the Georgia Lottery Corporation.” The store gives the Lottery its banking details so the Lottery can collect by electronic funds transfer, or EFT.
The guide says the store must deposit the net receipts into that account “no later than the next business day after the Location licensee collects the proceeds.” It then says: “At such time of deposit, the proceeds become the property of the GLC.” Rule 13.1.14(13) adds that each store must be able to show proof of its deposits within five business days of collection. It also says COAM proceeds “shall not be commingled with any other funds or assets.”
Once a week, the Lottery’s EFT system sweeps the account. The guide describes what happens next. The Lottery keeps its own share and sends the Master Licensee’s share on. The store “may withdraw its share of the proceeds and only its share.” The Lottery’s COAM Net Revenue and Commission report lists the shares since May 12, 2024. The store’s share is 43.5%. The Master Licensee’s share is 43.5%. The Lottery’s share is 13.0%.
The sweep day is Wednesday. The guide says that if a bank holiday falls on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, “the sweep for that week may occur on the next business day.” The Lottery posts a calendar of the 2026 dates on gacoam.com and marks each moved date with a star. In the week of November 11, for example, the 2026 sweep moves to Thursday, November 12.
The amount owed for the week is on the Location Period Accounting Report, which the guide also calls the weekly invoice report. A store reads it on the Intralot portal at gacoamrpt.com. The line to look for is named “GLC Total Receivable Amount.” The guide says the report is usually updated for the prior week every Monday morning.
The whole amount has to be in the account on sweep day. The guide says: “The entire amount you owe must be available for the sweep.” It adds: “The EFT system will not accept partial payment.”
The guide defines the problem this page is about:
“A failed financial sweep or ‘bank return’ occurs if the total amount due is not available when the EFT system sweeps your COAM account.”
Three things can follow. The guide says that in the event of a bank return:
“any COAM equipment linked to your license number and any lottery equipment linked to your retailer number may be disabled and you will be subject to a NSF fee for each failed draft.”
The guide also says a service charge is assessed “for each NSF return.”
The Lottery’s COAM Division said the same in plain terms in an email to Location License Holders on September 23, 2026. The machines and the Lottery terminal can be switched off until the balance is paid in full. Inspectors can write citations for it.
The guide also names how a store may pay what is owed after a return:
“Acceptable commercial deposits for an ACH return may be made by cash, wire transfer, or cashier’s check.”
One return brings a fee and can switch the machines off. More than one puts the license at risk. The guide says:
“In the events of multiple ACH returns within a 180 day rolling period, the LLH shall be considered for disciplinary action ranging from suspension to termination of COAM operations.”
The guide counts returns over a rolling 180-day period that starts with the first return and, when there is more than one, runs from the date of the last return. The Lottery’s September 23, 2026 email to Location License Holders used a 90-day window and set out these steps. A store that has a Financial Security Deposit on file faces a suspension at the third return within 90 days. A fourth return brings a longer suspension. A fifth brings a recommendation to end the license. A store with no deposit on file is suspended at the third return until the balance is zero and a deposit is put up. If no deposit is put up within two weeks, the license ends.
A Financial Security Deposit, or FSD, is a deposit some stores must put up when they apply. Rule 13.1.4(6)(g) asks an applicant for one of two things. One is “an acceptable level of creditworthiness.” The other is “a financial security deposit or other credit enhancement acceptable to the GLC.” The Lottery’s FSD guidelines say the deposit “shall be $2500 and shall be in the form of cash escrow.” The guidelines list when it is required. The list includes a credit score below 690, a delinquent payment history with the Lottery, a disciplinary history with the Lottery, and a bankruptcy in the last seven years.
The deposit cannot come from a Master Licensee. The guide says the Lottery “cannot accept FSDs directly from a MLH,” or from anyone acting for a Master Licensee on a store’s behalf.
The sweep is not the only thing the Lottery watches. The rules also list a violation for failing to show proof of deposits within five business days of collection. The Lottery’s violation chart rates it Level 3. At Level 3, the chart’s suggested penalties start at a $500 fine and 12 months’ probation. In the worst cases they reach a $1,000 fine, a suspension of up to ten days, and possible revocation. Rule 13.1.15(1) lists the wider consequences for breaking the rules: a fine, a suspended license, a revoked license, and seizure of the machine, “including any proceeds contained in the COAM.”
The guide gives one number for a store whose machines have been disabled: the COAM Retailer Services Helpline, 1-800-746-8546, option 6 and then 2. For a store that sees a problem coming, the guide names a second line:
“To prevent the possibility of incurring a NSF, please contact our COAM Retailer Accounting Department at (404)215-5000 ext. 8700 Option 2 to establish payment arrangements.”
A store that changes banks must file an updated EFT Authorization Form, submitted by an owner of record. The guide says to “allow two (2) full weekly accounting periods” for the change to take effect.
Every week, on the date the Lottery’s calendar shows, the full amount owed has to be in the COAM account. If it is not, the machines can be switched off, and the license is on the line after that.
More answers: how long to keep COAM records · what a store can give for a winning ticket · the 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.