Customer Challenge

• To enable visually impaired charity representatives sell “cupón” lottery tickets to raise money for ONCE
• To attract new customers by revamping the look and feel of the existing lottery game
• To promote innovation by developing new applications and services such as “El Combo”, a new game launched in October 2004

The Ingenico Solution

• The i8500 mobile terminal offering long range wireless transaction operation and built-in easy-load thermal printer

Customer Benefits

• A text-to-speech translator that reads out messages appearing on the display screen
• A keyboard specially designed for the blind
• An easy-to-load printer that automatically detects when paper is low
• Unsold tickets can now be returned electronically, vendors are no longer obliged to make a daily trip to the centre to physically return tickets that were not sold

About ONCE

ONCE is a Spanish organisation whose mission is to help blind and visually impaired citizens live more comfortably. Since 1934, ONCE has funded its programs by selling lottery tickets.

Almost 23,000 people with visual or other disabilities sell these “cupón” lottery tickets on the street. Each ticket includes a number and bar code. Every evening, the winning number is announced and unsold tickets are returned to ONCE.

In 2003 ONCE decided to modernise the management of the lottery by equipping its vendors with mobile terminals. In particular ONCE wanted to:

• Facilitate the day-to-day work of its vendors
• Attract new customers by revamping the look and feel of the existing lottery game
• Promote innovation by developing new applications and services such as “El Combo”, a new game launched in October 2004

 
With these priorities in mind ONCE turned to Ingenico and Gtech, the largest supplier of lottery systems in the world.

The Project

ONCE opted for Ingenico’s i8500 mobile terminal, which incorporates the most advanced technology of its kind for long-range wireless transaction acceptance operating. The terminal, which uses GPRS/GSM communications, features a colour touch screen, built-in easy-load thermal printer and intelligent-charge lithium ion battery. It incorporates debit/credit/smart card/EBT and signature capture, bar code scanning, text messaging and provides outstanding security. The terminal can easily be upgraded to meet the customer’s transaction requirements in the future.

Over 24,000 i8500 terminals have been delivered and ONCE’s objectives have been achieved 100%.
 
In addition to its physical qualities, such as a compact and lightweight body, the i8500 terminal includes specific features that facilitate its use by the visually impaired:

• A text-to-speech translator that reads out messages appearing on the display screen
• A keyboard specially designed for the blind
• An easy-to-load printer that automatically detects when paper is low
• Unsold tickets can now be returned electronically, vendors are no longer obliged to make a daily trip to the centre to physically return tickets that were not sold

 
The i8500 terminal is also perfectly suited to the lottery-ticketing sector, as it can transmit and receive data using a GPRS connection with a remote server and scan tickets with a bar-code reader to identify winning tickets or send the numbers of unsold tickets back to the mainframe server.

Business Benefits

Not only does the i8500 mobile terminal make the street vendor’s job easier; lottery buyers can now choose their own numbers and the seller can print the corresponding tickets on special ticket paper. The i8500 terminal is a scalable solution ready to integrate new games and EMV-compliant payment applications. A new game – “El Rasca” – was launched in May 2006 with an extremely short time to market. In this instant lottery game, the player scratches a panel to see if they have bought a winning ticket. The vendor then authenticates the prize by sending it back to the host for on-line verification ensuring issues of fraud or counterfeiting are avoided in one easy step.