For every store owner with Class B machines. September 2026.
For every store owner with Class B machines. Written by Coam Tracker, September 2026. We are not lawyers. This is to help you understand. For your own situation, ask the Georgia Lottery or your attorney.
A new law, House Bill 353, changed how you can redeem a prize on a Class B machine.
Starting July 1, 2026, a Class B prize can be given out only four ways:
That's it. No merchandise. No gas. No cash. Nothing else.
If a store gives out anything else, the Georgia Lottery can take action against the store.
The law (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1) says a COAM gift card:
A store's own gift card — good only at your store — fits these rules. It is loaded at your store with winnings. It is spent at your store on store merchandise. Our rule for our card, printed on every receipt: no cash back, no money orders, no prepaid cards, no money transfers.
The Lottery's own notice to store owners (updated June 17, 2026) says the same thing in its own words: a gift card "cannot be exchanged for cash, change, or currency." If a card company tells you their card can be cashed out, ask them to show you where the law allows it.
You will hear salespeople say their card or their system is "Georgia Lottery approved" or "GLC-approved." Here is the truth.
Before July 1, 2026: Yes, there was one approved card. From 2022 to June 30, 2026, the Georgia Lottery ran a gift card pilot program. The Lottery picked one card company to run it. Those cards had the Lottery logo on them. During that time, only that card was allowed. So "approved" was a real thing — for that one card, in that one program.
After July 1, 2026: That program is over. The new law lets any gift card that follows the rules above be used. The Lottery does not keep a list of approved card companies. The Lottery does not approve card companies at all anymore.
The Lottery's own notice to store owners (June 17, 2026) says it plainly: go "independently research and establish a relationship with a gift card provider." In plain words: pick your own.
So today:
The Lottery does approve some things. It licenses operators, it licenses store locations, it approves the machines, and it signs up lottery retailers. That is all. If a product is not one of those four things, the Lottery did not "approve" it.
What to do when a salesperson says "we are approved": Ask them, "Approved by whom, and can I see the letter?" There is no letter. Then decide on the product by what it does, what it costs, and whether it follows the law — not by a word on a flyer.
The Lottery can inspect your store at any time. When they do, they ask one question: How did you redeem your prizes?
You need to be able to show, for each redemption:
If you can show that, the inspector has what they came for. If you cannot, you are asking them to take your word for it.
The Lottery encourages every location licensee to keep accurate records showing the forms of redemption used. Georgia law also expects COAM records to be kept for 5 years. That is a long time. A notebook gets lost. A cashier forgets. A phone gets replaced.
A gift card company's system only records its own cards. It does not record your replays. It does not record your lottery redemptions. It does not record your own store gift card. Nobody records those for you — unless you do.
Good. Keep it.
If you use a card company, keep using it. Their system records their card. That is fine.
But your replays, your lottery products, and your own store gift card are not in their system. Those are on you. You still need one place that records all four ways you redeem — every ticket, every day, from any phone.
That is all Coam Tracker does. It helps you keep the records Georgia law asks stores to keep. It does not touch money. It does not promise you anything about an inspection. It just makes sure that when someone asks "how did you redeem this ticket?", you have the answer.
Sources: House Bill 353 (2026); O.C.G.A. § 50-27-70, 50-27-71.1; Georgia Lottery notice "COAM Prize Redemption Changes Effective July 1, 2026" (updated June 17, 2026); Georgia Lottery COAM Portal, "Gift Card Pilot Program Extension"; Georgia Amusement Journal (GAMOA), November 2024.
Coam Tracker helps store owners keep the records Georgia law asks stores to keep. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the Georgia Lottery Corporation. © 2026 Coam Tracker, LLC · Coam Tracker™
More Georgia COAM news & dates →This page shares public industry news and dates. 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.