Abstract: An improved ticket dispensing apparatus to efficiently and expeditiously control the separation and dispensing of tickets from a continuous strip of tickets. Once a ticket selection is made, a control circuit activates the dispensing mechanism for dispensing the selected number of tickets. The strip of tickets is drawn into engagement with a pair of drive rollers and forced into engagement with a downstream deflector plate. Once a measured and predetermined ticket length has been met, the direction of movement for the drive rollers is reversed and a unidirectional clutch engaged. The clutch rotates a deflector plate used to force the strip of tickets into engagement with a stationary cutting blade along a perforated line scored in the ticket strip so that the desired number of tickets are separated from the ticket strip.