Customer Name: Perfect Lottery Case Number 2

Summary of Need: This new business venture requires a county-wide system where consumers, using online automatic vending machines, can purchase lottery tickets using their major national credit cards.

Motivation or Reason for Need: Perfect County is authorized by statute to operate a lottery starting October 1. County comm1ssioners have awarded a contract to Perfect Lottery Enterprises (PLE) to develop and operate the lottery for five years. PLE's proposal stressed that consumers can most easily purchase tickets using their credit cards. Online vending and computer-based operation is essential. The close time constraints on lottery games, and the need to know the number of tickets sold (and their play numbers, of course) makes rapid information acquisition and transmission imperative.

Nature of Business: PLE operates the lottery for 12% of the gross receipts. It guarantees to deliver to the county 68% of the receipts free and clear. It must set the prizes and playing rules so as never to lose big. There are three daily games and one big-money weekly game. The amount of winnings is either small and fixed (for example, there are at most ten $1000 prizes in the daily games) or else uncertain, but with large payoffs (there is one big winner in every game, but the amount depends partly on the receipts of the game). Game winners are announced every night on the 7pm News, Monday through Saturday. The weekly game starts on Monday and ends on Saturday night. Daily games begin at midnight and close at 5pm.

Present System: None! PLE is new in the business, and its directors feel that their approach can revolutionize lotteries, so they are not considering buying a system or expertise from any existing lottery operator. A vending terminal is already ordered, which is similar to an automated teller machine, allowing the player to input his or her credit card (reading the magnetic stripe) and to select a game and a choice of play numbers. In addition, PLE wants to be the first Web-based lottery so that a web interface with appropriate security safeguards for credit-card information, user profiles and other financial information.

Statement of Customer-Perceived Requirements: The required system must be on-line and accessible 24 hours per day, but must have safeguards and controls for closing each game on time and locking it out during the drawing period (from 5 pm to 7 pm). It must deliver accurate information on receipts of each game and the numbers played (for the drawing).

Management must be able to monitor status of any ongoing game, with rapid response at any time the game is open for play. The system must maintain accurate books on all games for a year, and must prepare the proper monthly billing to each player's charge card operator. In addition, management wants to monitor the overall performance of the lottery and obtain summary reports for the games, including the amount of money taken in, the payouts, and the surplus. These reports should be able to provide information on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.