Abstract: Apparatus for managing a lottery distribution includes a plurality of lottery cards carrying a unique machine-readable code readable by a Point of Sale (POS) system for purchase and activation of the lottery card by a customer. Each lottery card carries in customer readable format only part of the game data, which is covered by a scratch-off, necessary for a determination by the customer whether the lottery card is allocated to be either a winner of a predetermined prize or a non-winner of the lottery and the lottery control system is arranged to communicate to the POS system the remaining information for said determination to be printed on a POS receipt for the customer so that the customer can read the printed data on the receipt along side or through the card to determine whether the card is a winner.