Smart Phone App Helps Lottery Players Keep Track Of Winnings

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new mobile app should help more Lottery players claim their winnings when they win, if they forget to check their tickets.

WBBM Newsradio's Cisco Cotto reports Lottery players often misplace winning tickets in their purses, wallets, drawers, or under their car seats.

Brett Jacobson, CEO of Lotto Lotto, said approximately $2 billion in Lottery winnings go unclaimed each year in the U.S.

Jacobson designed the LottoLotto app to make it easier for people to find out if they won a prize in a Lottery drawing.

"You take your mobile phone out, make sure it's in a really well-lit area. You have it sitting flat on a table. Install our app, LottoLotto. Take a picture of your ticket, and then it tells you whether or not you've won," he said.

He said most people focus on winning the full jackpot, and forget they can win a lot of money even if they don't match every number in a drawing.

LottoLotto can recognize the numbers, state, and specific game being played from the picture of your ticket, and let you know if you've matched enough numbers for a prize.

The free app will send users an alert if they've won any money as soon as their drawing is done.

"If it's an old ticket, it will tell you instantly whether or not you've won; and if it's a future ticket, for a drawing that hasn't taken place yet, it'll send you an alert once that drawing takes place," Jacobson said.

The Illinois Lottery website lists millions of dollars' worth of unclaimed prizes, including a $550,000 winner whose ticket expires this month.