Where’s my Keno or Pick 3 kiosk? Lottery is moving 179 low-performing machines across Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you’re a Keno or Pick 3 player, the self-serve machine you use might be moving to a new location.

That’s because the Ohio Lottery Commission is moving 179 under-performing kiosks across the state to new homes where the machines could be more successful. Some already have been moved. These are the kiosks that sell games like Keno, or scratch off tickets.

Nine of these kiosks are in Cleveland, and 32 of them are in the Greater Cleveland area — which includes Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Portage, Medina, Geauga and Lake counties. Odds are you (the reader) haven’t used them, because these are the kiosks in the state with the fewest sales.

Lottery Commission spokesperson Danielle Frizzi-Babb said the agency’s goal is to maximize sales so it can generate more profits to support education in Ohio. Last year it announced $1.4 billion in profit, which was given to the Lottery Profits Education Fund. This money becomes part of the budget the state provides to schools.

She said the Lottery routinely looks at each location to see if machines are hitting their sales goals.

“The Lottery provides the equipment that is placed in retail locations at no cost to the retailer, and machines with low sales do not generate enough revenue to justify the placement,” Frizzi-Babb said.

Each of the 179 kiosks being moved have $50 or less in sales per day on average, she said, or are at businesses that have closed. This is well below the statewide average of $372 per day. Some kiosks have over $2,200 of sales each day, Frizz-Babb said.

Newly placed kiosks are given six months to establish sales. At that point if a kiosk is identified as a low seller, the retailer is given another six months to improve. Frizzi-Babb said Lottery reps work with retailers to try and increase sales.

Frizzi-Babb said a low seller is a kiosk with under $150 sales each day.

A business may lose its kiosks but remain a licensed Lottery retailer. These businesses can still sell Lottery products over the counter.

The Lottery has about 8,170 self-serve kiosks across the state. Retailers get a 5.5% commission on Lottery sales. Frizzi-Babb said there are additional bonuses based on hitting sales goals.

In some cases, a retailer has two machines and only loses one. And in other cases, a business has so much business that it needs a second kiosk — which is part of why these kiosks get moved around.

The Lottery actually has five kinds of self-serve kiosks, each with different features. Some are short and can sit on a counter. Some mostly focus on scratch-off tickets. Some have both lottery games and sports betting.

The 179 kiosks currently being moved are all Multi-Play machines, the thin and tall kiosks often seen in bars, restaurants and corner stores. These specific machines aren’t manufactured anymore. Frizzi-Babb said the Lottery looks at every type of kiosk to see if they’re performing well. But at the moment it’s focusing on the Multi-Play machines.

So, who is losing a kiosk? The list includes bars and restaurants like the Buffalo Wild Wings in Kent, two American Legions in Akron and Dive Bar on West 6th Street in Cleveland.

Also on the list are delis, drive-thru liquor stores, tobacco shops and even gyro shops.

You can search the full list of moving kiosks here. Each kiosk either has been or will be moved.