Like chips and soda, now you can buy lottery tickets from lottery ticket vending machine.
The lottery began installing 500 machines statewide last week. The vending machines sell 24 games costing $1 to $10 each.
Many will go into supermarkets, said Alice Garland, lottery deputy executive director. Some will land in convenience stores with high ticket sales to free up clerks.
Lottery ticket vending machine is not new to state lotteries. Maryland has used them since 1998, while Virginia first installed machines in 1990.
States try to prevent players under 18 from using the anonymity of the machines to illegally buy tickets.
The state also “strongly recommends” that store owners place machines within sight of clerks, she said. Some states, including Maryland and Virginia, said they require stores to place the machines where workers can watch them.