Most lottery consultants are strategists who have never specified a substrate or a validation code. That gap is where instant game programmes get into trouble: a beautiful ticket that scuffs in the pack, a security construction a determined retailer can read without scratching, or a validation scheme that cannot survive a partial print run.
A security printing background makes this the strongest and most unusual part of this practice.
Play concept and artwork direction are developed alongside the security construction rather than after it, so the design and the protection are one decision. Specification covers substrate, ink systems and release coat, the latex and rub-off characteristics, void and tamper indication, validation and inventory coding, packing and pack-level security, and the audit chain from print floor to retailer settlement.
- Play concept and artwork direction, with shelf-competition review
- Full security printing specification issuable to any qualified printer
- Validation and inventory coding scheme, mapped to your validation system
- Pack configuration, packing security and destruction protocol
- Press-approval checklist and acceptance criteria for the print run
A great deal. Printers build to the specification they are given. Where the operator supplies a thin one, the printer own defaults fill the gap and the operator carries the risk. The specification puts those choices back in your hands and gives you acceptance criteria to hold the run against.
Art direction, play concept and the specification the artwork must satisfy are produced here. Final production artwork is executed by your studio or the printer pre-press team, against that brief, and reviewed before press approval.
Part of our lottery consulting services.
A scratch ticket is a security document that happens to look like a game. It has to be attractive enough to sell and secure enough that no one can beat it — and those two demands pull in opposite directions. Most consultants have never specified a substrate or a validation code; Lotto Edge Consulting brings a security-printing background to the design of instant tickets, so the artwork and the security are considered together, not in sequence.
What ticket design and security printing covers
- Game and artwork direction — themes, play areas, prize legends and the visual design that drives shelf appeal.
- Security specification — validation codes, barcodes, overprint, coatings and the layered defences that protect the game.
- Substrate and print — stock, inks, scratch-off coatings and finishing specified for your print partner’s presses.
- Validation architecture — how the ticket ties into the validation and prize-control system.
- Pack and distribution — packaging, serialisation and the logistics that keep the chain secure.
How we approach it
We treat design and security as one brief. The artwork that makes a ticket sell and the security that makes it safe are specified together, so nothing in the visual design compromises the defences and nothing in the security kills the appeal. Because our background is in security printing, the specification we produce is one your print partner can take straight to press — substrate, inks, coatings, codes and finishing, described the way a printer needs them.
Typical deliverables
- Instant ticket artwork direction and game design
- Security and validation specification
- Substrate, ink and coating specification
- Print-ready production pack for your print partner
- Serialisation and packaging specification
Who this is for
Operators commissioning instant tickets, lotteries reviewing the security of an existing programme, and print buyers who want an independent specification before going to tender.
Common questions
Do you print the tickets?
No — we are consultants, not a printer, and we stay vendor-neutral. We produce the specification and artwork direction, and work alongside whichever accredited security printer you choose.
Can you review the security of tickets we already sell?
Yes. An independent security review can identify weaknesses in validation, coatings or serialisation before they become a fraud problem.
What makes your approach different?
Most consultants stop at the commercial design. Our security-printing background means we specify the physical ticket to production standard, which is unusual for an advisory practice.
Related reading: How to Structure an Online Scratch Lottery Programme.
Is this the engagement you need?
Describe the decision in front of you and you will get a straight answer about fit, including when this practice is not the right one.