Illinois Lottery reopens claim centers

The Illinois Lottery has published guidelines that must be followed by players who prefer to collect prizes at claim centers.

US.- Illinois Lottery has launched a protocol to allow players to personally claim prizes at its claim centres.

Four out of five of the state’s centres are resuming operations after remaining closed for more than three months due to the pandemic. The Des Plaines, Fairview Heights, Springfield (Lottery Headquarters) and Rockford centres will operate weekdays from 8am to 4.30pm from Monday July 6.

The claim centre at the James R. Thompson Center (JRTC) in Chicago will remain closed to the public until further notice.

Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said: “As Illinois continues to re-open, we are once again opening our doors to players. We are looking forward to giving our players the opportunity to visit one of our claim centers and process their lottery prizes in person.

“We expect that there will be a high volume of players visiting our claim centers in the first few weeks and appreciate your patience and understanding as we open again. We have instituted new protocols to aid in serving as many players as possible in a safe and efficient manner.”

Clients will have to wait in a “virtual lobby” where they can keep their place in line from inside their vehicles to avoid gathering inside the claim centres themselves. The system will send a text message to players to let them know when it is their turn to enter the building.

Customers must attend alone, and must wear face masks and respect social distancing measures. ID and a mobile phone will be needed to check in to the virtual lobby.

However, the lottery has suggested players should continue claiming prizes online.

Mays said: “We’ve had great success with our mail-in claims process during the past few months and we encourage players to try it, as it is still our preferred method as the State enters Phase IV.”