Lottery unveils first electronic scratch game

Monday, Oct. 4, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Lottery players in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waterloo and Cedar Falls have the first chance at playing the first electronic scratch game beginning today.

The Iowa Lottery will begin distributing battery powered cards loaded with 80 plays. Each card will cost $20 -- that amounts to 25 cents per play, thus the name "Quarter Play," lottery officials said.

The cards, about the size of a driver's license, guarantee a payout of at least $5. Among the 20,000 cards to be sold in the initial marketing test, 35 have been programmed to pay out the $300 top prize, said Joe Hrdlicka, lottery spokesman.

About 130 retailers in eastern Iowa have been provided with the games.

The game was unveiled Friday in Cedar Rapids. Iowa Lottery officials said it's the first electronic scratch game in the nation.

The game will be tested for six to eight months until all 20,000 cards are purchased, Hrdlicka said.

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