Many lotteries create their own mobile application for a variety of reasons, such as to increase awareness of their lottery, make it more convenient for people to play, or to explain how their lottery works. California Lottery (CA Lottery) is one of the bigger lotteries that has adopted this strategy. In this review of the CA Lottery Official Android and iOS app, we will look at what the developers have made available and how these features can make your CA Lottery experience more enjoyable.
Stand-Out Feature
The main feature of CA Lottery Official App (further called CA Lottery) is to bring you the latest draw results from several Californian lotteries (listed below).
To view the latest results, you will need to select which lottery you would like to view the results of from the available lotteries which are displayed on the home screen of the app in a vertical metro view. Each lottery is identified by its logo and includes the date of the next draw, the estimated or guaranteed jackpot, and the estimated cash value of the jackpot.
When selecting a lottery, you will be directed to the latest results screen. This screen will show you the date that the draw took place, the draw number, the winning numbers, and a pay table that will show you how much you would win depending on the amount of numbers you match. The pay table also displays how many winners each tier had for that draw—something we encourage in all our best Android and iOS lottery apps.
If you would like to view past draws you will be able to tap on the date displayed. This will bring up a drop-down selection list that will give you a list of the previous 10 draws. To view the results, you can simply tap on the date of your choice.
Additional Features
CA Lottery comes with a variety of additional features for your use. These include:
Check-a-Ticket: This handy feature allows you to use your device camera to scan the barcode of any valid ticket from any of the supported lotteries. The app will then determine the information of the ticket (the draw date that it is valid for and what numbers were played on the ticket) and compare that information against the results of that draw. The app will then notify you if you are a winner. The one thing that we found slightly off-putting is that this feature is disabled between the hours of 2:15 am and 5:30 am, and it’s never explained exactly why that is.
Promotions: This feature shows the latest offers that are available from CA Lottery. The promotions page also includes the official rules of whatever promotion is currently available and a FAQ section for any questions you may have about the promotion.
Enter 2nd Chance: CA Lottery offers a unique feature called 2nd Chance. This feature allows you to enter your previously purchased ticket that did not have any winnings linked to it into a secondary draw. This gives you a second chance at winning something from the ticket—even if the amount available to be won is substantially less than the original draw.
From within the app you will be able to sign into your CA Lottery account and submit a ticket for the 2nd Chance draw. Prior to logging in the app will also show information links that will provide you with more info on what 2nd Chance is. These links will open externally using your device browser.
Rules & FAQ: The app comes with a built-in user guide that explains all the basic rules for each of the lotteries supported as well as basic FAQ sections for each lottery. These are helpful if you have a question about a particular lottery.
Find a Retailer: Using your device’s location services, the app will track where you are located and display a map or list of retailers near you that sell lottery tickets for supported lotteries. This is a great feature if you are in a part of California that you are not familiar with and are looking to purchase a ticket for your favourite lottery.
Claiming Prizes: The app offers a simple guide on how to go about claiming your winnings if you have a winning ticket. Included in these instructions is a list of lottery offices with their contact details and physical addresses.
Location & Lotteries Available
CA Lottery supports only the following Californian lotteries:
It is easy to tell that there was a considerable amount of thought that went into the design and development of CA Lottery. The app looks modern and uses minimalistic styles to bring all the information to the forefront. The app is also responsive and there is no noticeable lag when switching between features.
Installing at just over 35MB, the app is not excessively big, and it also does not use huge amounts of data when updating the latest lottery draw results. Another plus is that it natively supports full-view mode on newer devices.
Navigation is handled with a hamburger menu that appears on the left side of your screen and is accessed by tapping the hamburger icon at the top left-hand side of the screen. In addition to this, on some pages there is a small floating CA Lottery logo in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Tapping this will expand a small floating menu that gives you access to the same main feature options as the hamburger menu.
Ads
As is the standard with most official lottery applications, there are no ads in CA Lottery.
Conclusion – CA Lottery Official App Review
Californian Lottery has done a good job with their official CA Lottery app. While they could add some basic features (such as a random number generator), overall the app is great and works seamlessly. If you are looking for something that will enhance your CA lottery experience, then downloading this app is probably the best place to start.
