We are thrilled to share the news about the recent partnership between LottoShield and H&S Energy...
Convenience stores and gas stations are the very heartbeat of the retail community. Everyday, these stores offer customers quick access to fuel, snacks, and essentials on almost every corner of the block. But what enables them to be a fast-paced and high-cash environment, also makes them equally vulnerable to theft and inefficiencies. What ideally should be a sound revenue stream often erodes due to challenges in loss prevention, unnecessary labor costs, and management gaps.
For decades, stores have struggled with lottery management. From rampant theft and inaccurate scratcher tracking to time-consuming, labor intensive manual audits which are prone to human error. While many solutions have come forth, very few have actually helped ease the pain for retailers selling lottery tickets while preventing lottery theft and fraud.
The Hidden Crisis in Lottery Management
For lottery retailers, these inefficiencies lead to higher costs, operational challenges, and inaccuracies that make lottery theft difficult to manage. Issues including unintentional miscounts and intentional lotto theft create financial losses that add an avoidable strain to a convenience store. Not to mention the wasted hours employees spend performing lottery ticket audits that could be used to better serve customers or complete other necessary tasks. Here’s how:
- Lottery Ticket Theft: Probably the most notorious of all, untracked inventory often leaves openings for thieves to make their move.
- Manual Reconciliation and Errors: Lack of automation consumes employees’ productivity, forcing them to manually count tickets and make mistakes.
- Operational Burden on Managers: A large chunk of store managers’ time is wasted on lottery compliance instead of focusing on the store.
- Auditing Nightmares: Poor tracking methods forces store owners to allocate daily hours to auditing. This not only drains employee productivity, but also leaves the store vulnerable to employee theft.
- No Real-Time Monitoring: Most convenience stores and gas station owners still use traditional systems for lottery management, which fail to catch inefficiencies and theft.
Without a comprehensive inventory management system in place, retailers are likely to lose money over time. Let's see how H&S Energy, a top 50 gasoline and convenience store chain on CSP’s Top 202 list, found a solution that was profitable and scalable.
From Lottery Chaos to Control - How H&S Energy Eliminated Losses
What if a single solution could permanently eliminate these challenges? That’s exactly what H&S Energy achieved by switching to LottoShield. As a leading convenience store and fuel retailer that has grown to over 270 locations.
The repetitive cycle of manual tracking and inventory discrepancies left employees and managers frustrated and made the company susceptible to theft. Cashier inefficiencies and time-consuming audits were costing H&S several hours of daily productivity at each store. On top of that, unexpected theft incidents resulted in thousands of dollars of lottery shrinkage — an all-too common problem for both large and small retailers.
Then H&S found LottoShield, a fully automated lottery management software that tracks and reconciles lotto sales and payouts. LottoShield is designed to prevent theft, reduce wasted labor, and make audits completely effortless. Just a few weeks into adoption, H&S Energy witnessed a remarkable transformation in both its operational efficiency and financial performance.
The LottoShield Effect - H&S Energy’s Massive Savings and Total Control
Shortly after implementing LottoShield, H&S Energy's operations dramatically improved. The company nearly eliminated theft and unauthorized losses, achieving a 95% reduction in lottery theft. Cashiers saved 15-20 minutes per shift once LottoShield took over the heavy lifting of tracking lottery inventory. This allowed cashiers and other employees to spend time more productively.
The benefits extended to other roles as well. Managers only needed 10 minutes to review LottoShield’s dashboards instead of 45-60 minutes daily to check audit logs, reallocating thousands of hours of labor annually.
At the corporate office, audit teams previously stuck in repetitive manual checks for 10-15 hours daily found significant relief. With LottoShield, they now complete their tasks in just 4 hours, freeing up an additional $110,000 in annual labor costs.
To sum it up, H&S Energy achieved a 12x return on investment—saving $12 for every $1 spent on LottoShield. For most CFOs in retail, these aren’t just numbers; they represent businesses reclaiming time, money, and peace of mind.
Implementation and Rollout Within 2 Weeks
LottoShield’s rollout at H&S Energy was completed in a few weeks. Unlike other solutions that often take months or even years to implement, H&S experienced a full fledged rollout across its initial 165 locations in less than three weeks.
The company began with a pilot program at three locations to evaluate its effectiveness and build a business case. Within the first week, they effortlessly uncovered instances of theft.
After witnessing the immediate value of LottoShield, H&S Energy expanded the pilot program in the second week. By the end of that week, they decided to roll out LottoShield company-wide.
All 165 locations were up and running in just two weeks. “We went from managing theft on a regular basis to almost zero issues thanks to LottoShield’s tracking capabilities. With LottoShield, if tickets are stolen, we catch it immediately,” said Fidaa Mohrez, Senior Director of Operations at H&S Energy.
Why LottoShield Stands Out From the Competition
H&S Energy’s success story is proof that LottoShield works! Compared to other lottery tracking systems on the market, LottoShield provides carefully designed features to solve the daily challenges faced by lottery retailers. Unlike competitors who offer lottery modules that still rely on manual processes, LottoShield leaves no room for human error.
With LottoShield’s automation features and tracking capabilities, every sale, ticket, and payout is recorded in real-time, providing instant visibility and superior control over lottery operations. In addition, LottoShield provides daily updates automatically for new and expiring games, meaning updating your lotto inventory takes minutes, not hours. It's a comprehensive solution built to improve accuracy, efficiency, and loss prevention. No more missing inventory, and no more wasted hours resolving discrepancies.
How LottoShield Can Help Your Business
With thousands of retail and convenience stores struggling to keep their lottery operations profitable, LottoShield offers a solution that eliminates losses, streamlines management, and maximizes revenue—proven by H&S Energy’s success. Today, businesses are shifting from traditional methods to modern lottery management with LottoShield, saving millions in the process.
If lottery inefficiencies are costing your company money, it’s time to protect your revenue and scale your business. Contact us for a comprehensive evaluation of your lottery operations and experience the difference with a pilot of LottoShield.
