Scientific Games expands its flagship line of clerk-operated WAVE terminals with three new models designed to help lotteries and retailers meet the demands of today’s fast-moving retail environment and rising consumer expectations for speed and convenience. Engineered to address the needs of modern retail, the company’s new WAVE Ultra, WAVE Optim, and WAVE Contour build on two decades of lottery technology leadership to deliver smooth, dependable transactions, greater transaction visibility, faster service, and more engaging player interactions at the check-out counter.
As retail continues to shift toward frictionless, outcome-driven experiences, speed and convenience have become critical. Research cited by PYMNTS.com highlights growing demand for seamless transactions from discovery to fulfillment, while Marketsource’s What Retail Consumers Really Want report, citing Forbes data, notes 50% of all retail customers won’t wait more than three minutes in a store. In lottery retail, where queue time directly impacts sales, efficient checkout experiences are more important than ever.
“Every second at the counter matters. Retailers need technology that reduces friction, speeds up transactions and keeps players engaged. By expanding our WAVE terminal family, we’re helping lotteries deliver faster service, improve operational efficiency and create a better overall retail experience,” said Joe Fulton, VP of Retail Products at Scientific Games.
With more than 230,000 units shipped globally, WAVE terminals are recognized across the lottery industry for their ergonomic design, flexible footprints and powerful, reliable performance. The expanded WAVE family delivers capabilities tailored to a range of retail environments and modernization strategies:
• WAVE Ultra – delivers the highest volume of precise playslip processing in the smallest footprint for a full-function lottery terminal, powered by an industry-leading mechanical document scanner. Accelerates clerk workflow and shortens wait times for players—creating a noticeably faster, more seamless purchase moment.
• WAVE Optim – takes a future-focused, simplified approach, removing the traditional document scanner to support moving toward paperless play and reduced mechanical components. The streamlined design has fewer moving parts to manage, and benefits players with a smooth, digital-first interaction that mirrors their expectations in modern retail.
• WAVE Contour – offers camera-based document scanning and a 300-degree scan field. This expanded scan visibility gives players a clearer view of every ticket they present, enhancing transparency, reinforcing confidence in each transaction, and strengthening security at the counter.
Market momentum for Scientific Games’ WAVE retail terminals continues to grow. In the past 18 months, four North American lotteries—the Minnesota Lottery, Ohio Lottery, New Mexico Lottery, and Loto-Québec—have selected WAVE solutions from the family of clerk-operated terminals. Most recently, WAVE terminals launched as part of major technology upgrades for the New Mexico Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Lotto New Zealand, and The National Lottery in the UK with partner Allwyn UK.
