New App for lottery players tracks tickets and delivers real-time drawing results.
YooLotto has announced that version one of its free lottery-management application is now available for download for both iOS and Android devices.
Currently supporting Powerball and Megamillions games in Texas, YooLotto is planning a national roll-out for the multi-state games later this year. YooLotto has partnered exclusively with 7-Eleven Inc., for its launch, offering coupons and other deals for lottery ticketholders who redeem their tickets in the convenience retailer’s franchised and company-operated stores.
YooLotto is the first and only application that stores and tracks individual lottery ticket information, notifying players of their personal lottery results within minutes of the drawings.
Created by co-founders Eric Yoo and Elmer Cha, YooLotto makes getting real-time drawing results simple. After downloading the free YooLotto application to their iOS or Android device, players purchase their lottery tickets and take a photograph of the tickets with their smart phones.
YooLotto’s patent-pending technology takes care of the rest. Whether the player wins $10 or $10,000—or didn’t buy a winning ticket that day—YooLotto uses GPS technology to direct players to the closest participating retailer to collect their winnings or try their luck again. Through mobile coupons and promotions, every notification received creates awareness of deals offered in convenience stores.
Lotteries are not only big business but also part of the cultural fabric of the U.S. Some 57% of Americans play the lottery at least once a year, and of those, 70 million own smartphones. But sadly, hundreds of millions of dollars in lottery winnings— including a $4.1 million Texas jackpot in 2011—go unclaimed each year because players misplace or forget to check their tickets. Last year, nearly $53 million went unclaimed in the Lone Star State.
“We wanted to use technology to make the process of keeping track of lottery tickets easy and more convenient, while at the same time reducing the amount of players leaving money on the table,” Yoo said. “We also felt it was important to reward people for frequent play—for believing in the possibility of that life-changing jackpot. That’s why we’re partnering with 7-Eleven and other brands sold inside 7-Eleven to give lottery players great deals on their favorite products so that every ticket is a winner.”
Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, 7-Eleven’s executive vice president for merchandising, marketing, logistics and innovation, believes working with YooLotto is an ideal way for the company to strengthen its relationship with lottery players and to help grow its share of the $4.1 billion lottery pie in Texas.
“This partnership not only allows us to reward lottery players for redeeming their Texas Powerball and Megamillions tickets at 7-Eleven stores with exclusive deals and coupons, but it also establishes 7-Eleven as the lottery destination in Texas,” Delgado-Jenkins said.
YooLotto is the first application from Yoo and Cha’s E Squared Technologies, Inc., and was among 10 products included in the 2012 class at Tech Wildcatters, a Dallas-based, business-to-business start-up accelerator.
“We have literally hundreds of applicants each year for our 12-week mentorship program,” said Stewart Youngblood, program director at Tech Wildcatters. “And while a great idea and solid business plan are clearly prerequisites, ultimately people invest in people. That’s what makes YooLotto so special. Eric and Elmer have the right dynamic internally, with investors, with our staff and with mentors. We chose them because we believe in their concept and in them. I’m confident YooLotto will be a huge success.”
