Employee Scratch-Off and Scratcher Theft: How to Check for It and Catch It

By the Lotto Proof team, who run their own liquor stores · Last updated October 15, 2026

To check for employee scratcher theft, count every book (also called a pack) at every shift change, with two people, and balance each count against the scratch-off sales rung up at the register. Counted that way, a shortage belongs to one shift and one crew. Counted once a day, or only when the lottery bills you, a missing ticket could have gone at any point since the last count, and nobody can be held to it.

How scratcher theft usually happens

These are the patterns store owners run into most. None of them needs a careless owner, only a gap in when and how the rack is counted.

  • Tickets torn off and not rung up. A cashier tears a few tickets off a book and keeps them or plays them. The book looks normal; it just has fewer tickets than the register says.
  • Scratching on shift and cashing the winners. The losers go in the trash, the winners are cashed as if a customer brought them in, and the register shows a payout instead of a loss.
  • A whole book walks out. A book is taken from the rack, a drawer, or the back. If nobody checks book by book, it is often not noticed until the lottery bills for it.
  • Tickets taken from the end of the book. A count reads the next ticket to sell, so tickets pulled from the far end of a book don't change it. Every count looks right until the book runs out early, and by then any shift since it was opened could have taken them.
  • Return-book theft. Books set aside for the lottery rep sit unwatched. Tickets pulled from them only show up later as a return that doesn't match what was sold.
  • Fudging the count. If one person always does the shift-change count, they can write down whatever balances their shift and push the shortage onto the next one.
Where scratch-off tickets leak, and what catches each leakFive leaks and their controls: tickets torn off and never rung up are caught by counting every shift against the register; tickets scratched on shift by comparing payouts by shift; whole books taken by a book-by-book check; tickets pulled from the returns pile by checking returns before pickup; fudged counts by two people and a scan record.WHERE TICKETS LEAKWHAT CATCHES ITTorn off, never rung upBook is short, register isn'tCount every shiftTickets sold vs. rung upScratched on shiftWinners cashed as payoutsPayouts by shiftCompare shift to shiftWhole book takenFrom the rack or the backBook-by-book checkEvery book accounted forPulled from returnsBooks waiting for the repCheck returnsBefore the rep picks upCount fudgedShortage pushed to next shiftTwo people + a recordEach book scanned, timed
Every leak is caught by a check that happens at the shift change, not at the end of the week.

Warning signs

  • The same shift, or the same person, is short again and again, even by small amounts
  • Lottery payouts are noticeably higher on one shift than the others
  • Counts get skipped or rushed on certain shifts
  • Books go missing between counts, or turn up in the wrong bin
  • Returns to the lottery rep don't match the tickets left in those books
  • Only one person ever does the count, and they resist anyone else doing it
  • Torn ticket stubs, scratched tickets, or scratch-off shavings in the trash or the back room
  • Books taped back together, or with tickets out of number order
  • A book runs out before the tickets sold from it add up to a full book
  • The same employee, or their friends and family, keeps cashing large winners
  • A book shows as sold and settled far faster than that game usually sells at your store

Why the count schedule decides what you can prove

A shortage can only be narrowed down to the time between two counts. That is the single most important idea in lottery loss prevention, and it is why counting at every handover matters more than any other control.

How often you count decides how far you can narrow a shortageIf the rack is counted once a day, a shortage found at the next count could have happened on any of three shifts. If it is counted at every shift change, the same shortage belongs to one shift.Counted once a dayMorningEveningOvernight6 AM2 PM10 PM6 AMShort $40 somewhere in these 24 hoursCounted at every shift changeMorningEveningOvernight6 AM2 PM10 PM6 AMShort $40 on the evening shift
Dark markers are counts. A shortage can only be narrowed to the stretch between two counts, so the count schedule decides what you can prove.

How to catch it, step by step

  1. Count every book at every shift change, with two people. The outgoing cashier reads each book's next ticket number; the incoming cashier writes it down and checks the rack matches. Neither signs for a rack they didn't see counted. Our shift change procedure and free count sheet walk through it.
  2. Balance every shift. Tickets sold from the count, times the ticket price, should match the scratch-off sales rung up during that shift. Write the difference on the sheet, every time, even when it is zero.
  3. Track payouts by shift. Your lottery terminal can print or export payouts for a period. Compare shifts. One shift cashing far more winners than the others, week after week, is a pattern worth looking at.
  4. Account for every book, not just every ticket. A book that was in the last count and isn't in this one is sold out, returned, or missing. Find out which before the shift ends. Once a week, check the lottery's list of activated books against your counts (see activated but missing). When a book sells out, add up what each shift sold from it: if the total is short of a full book, tickets were taken from its far end.
  5. Lock down returns. When a book is pulled for return, count its remaining tickets, write the count on the envelope, seal it, and have two people sign. Keep sealed returns in the safe, not under the counter.
  6. Do surprise counts. Once or twice a month, count the rack yourself at a random time and compare it with the last shift count. A mismatch means the last count was wrong, or something left since.
  7. Point a camera at the rack and the register. Footage is only useful if you know when to look, and shift counts tell you exactly when. Keep at least a few weeks of recording.

When a shift comes up short

Most shortages are honest mistakes. Work through the causes in order before treating anything as theft:

What to do when a shift comes up shortStart when a shift is short. If the gap is exactly one or two ticket prices, check the register for a double scan, a wrong price key, or a voided sale. If a whole book disappeared, check whether it sold out, was returned, or was moved. If the same shift or person is short repeatedly, investigate quietly with a surprise count, footage at the count times, and payouts by shift, and document everything before talking to anyone. Otherwise recount, note it, and watch the next shifts.A shift is shortIs the gap exactly one ortwo ticket prices?YesCheck the register first:a double scan, a wrongprice key, a voided saleNoDid a whole bookdisappear?YesSold out, returned, ormoved? Check the returnspile, the safe, other binsNoSame shift or same personagain and again?NoRecount, write it down,and watch the next shiftsYesInvestigate quietlySurprise count · footage at the count times · payouts by shift.Write down dates, amounts, and who was on before you talk to anyone.
Most shortages are mistakes, not theft. Work through the honest causes in this order, and only treat a repeating pattern as a theft investigation.

A real example. At our own stores, the register once came out exactly one ticket price over the count on a day with no theft at all. The cashier had scanned the same ticket twice at the register. A gap of exactly one ticket price almost always has a cause like this.

If the shortage repeats on the same shift or the same person, investigate before you talk to anyone:

  • Write it down: dates, shifts, amounts, which books, and who was working.
  • Pull footage from the count times and from any time the short book was handled.
  • Do a surprise count at the start and end of the suspect shift.
  • Compare payouts on that shift with the others.
  • Report stolen books to your lottery promptly, and ask whether the tickets can be flagged so they can't be cashed.
  • Get advice before you act. Talk to whoever advises you on employment matters before disciplining or firing anyone, and involve the police if you have clear evidence.

A lottery policy for your staff

Put it in writing and have every cashier sign it. It protects honest employees as much as it protects you.

  • Every shift change includes a two-person count, signed by both cashiers
  • Employees don't buy or cash lottery tickets on their own shift
  • Every scratch-off is rung up at its price before it leaves the counter
  • Books are only moved, returned, or opened by the manager, and every move is written down
  • Shortages are reported to the manager the same day, with no blame for reporting

How Lotto Proof handles this

Everything above works on paper. Its weak point is that it depends on people doing a slow count perfectly, every shift. Lotto Proof replaces the count with a scan: the cashier scans the barcode on every book at shift change, and tickets sold, sales, and missing books are worked out automatically for that shift. Each scan is saved with a time, so a skipped or fudged count is visible, and the owner is emailed about a missing book the same day.

Time to count the scratcher rack at shift changeMedian full-rack scan time was 32 seconds for a 32-bin rack and 2 minutes 9 seconds for a 64-bin rack, across 1,072 scans. Counting the same racks by hand typically takes 15 to 45 minutes.0153045Minutes per shift changeScanner, 32-bin rack32 secScanner, 64-bin rack2 min 9 secCounting by hand15–45 min
Scanner times: median of 1,072 full-rack scans at our own two stores, March to October 2026, first barcode to last. Hand-count range is the typical time retailers report.

For honest employees, the scan is an alibi: it shows their shift balanced when they handed it over.

Lotto Proof is a handheld scratch-off scanner with an owner dashboard: $39.99/month per location, scanner included (pricing). Start a 30-day free trial, or talk to us first.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check for scratcher theft in my store?

Count every scratcher book at every shift change, with two people, and check that the tickets sold times the ticket price match the scratcher sales rung up at the register for that shift. Then look for the physical signs: torn stubs or scratch-off shavings in the trash, books taped back together or with tickets out of number order, books that run out before their sales add up to a full book, and one shift or one employee cashing more winners than the rest.

How do I know if an employee is stealing scratch-off tickets?

Count every book at every shift change and compare tickets sold with the lottery sales rung up at the register for the same shift. A shift that is repeatedly short, a book that disappears between counts, unusually high payouts on one shift, or a count that only one person ever does are the main warning signs.

How do employees steal scratch-off tickets?

The common patterns are tearing tickets off a book without ringing them up, scratching tickets during the shift and cashing the winners, taking a whole book from the rack or the back, pulling tickets from books set aside for return, and fudging the shift-change count so the shortage lands on someone else's shift.

Why are my scratchers short at shift change?

A shortage means more tickets left the rack than the register recorded. Check the honest causes first: a sale rung at the wrong price, a ticket scanned twice or not at all, a miscounted book, or a book that sold out and was replaced mid-shift. A shortage of exactly one ticket price is usually a register mistake. A shortage that repeats on the same shift is worth investigating.

Can I prove which shift scratch-off tickets went missing on?

Only if the rack is counted at every shift change, by both the outgoing and incoming cashier. If the rack is counted once a day, a shortage could have happened on any shift since the last count. Counts at each handover narrow it to one shift and one crew.

What should I do if I think an employee is stealing lottery tickets?

Don't confront anyone yet. Do a surprise count, pull footage from the count times, compare payouts by shift, and write down dates, amounts, and who was working. Report stolen books to your lottery promptly and ask whether they can be flagged. Get advice before disciplining anyone, and involve the police if you have clear evidence.

Related guides