Are you tired of working hard for your money? Well, some cunning fraudsters in the US have found effortless ways to make quick cash – by counterfeiting winning pull-tab/instant lottery tickets.

Employing a number of intricate methods, counterfeiters have adopted techniques such as barcode tampering, fake scratch-off coatings, and even using advanced printing techniques that can dupe holograms or watermarks that are almost indistinguishable from legitimate tickets.

Thankfully, Australian-based YPB Group (ASX: YPB) has advanced its authenticating tech and announced they would be stepping up to address this growing problem in the United States’ $65 billion instant lottery market with its established YPB Tracer that can detect and authenticate tickets.

Striking up a 3-year master service agreement with US-based Smart-tabs Systems LLC, the Company’s invisible tracer technology will be deployed with future lottery ticket sales to ensure legitimacy and authenticating winners. Aiming to reduce the costly issue, the ticket authenticating tech will prevent the copying and fraudulent ‘double redemption’ of any winning lottery tickets through established validation systems.

The initial order is valued at US$19,573 (AU$29,757.50), with plans to roll out into every US state where pull-tab and lottery tickets are sold.

Group CEO, John Houston views this project as a significant opportunity for the Company’s long-term expansion strategy, stating, “This is potentially the most important commercial opportunity YPB has achieved post Covid, especially due to its broader ramifications. We have developed a simple, low-cost solution to a very expensive problem.”

With the game-changing tech to fight lottery fraud, today’s news sets a precedent for future projects in other highly counterfeited markets worldwide. For instance, China’s lottery industry could present itself as a prospect, given instant lotteries in the country are both highly popular and frequently hit by fraudsters wanting to get-rich-quick.

The counterfeiting of lottery tickets continues to worsen in the US, with fraudsters advancing their tech in line with the tech used to prevent it. However, with YPB establishing itself in the US, they hope to eclipse the costly issue as they deploy across the US and provide peace of mind for consumers who purchase legitimate tickets.

YPB shares have soared 50% higher following today’s announcement from $0.004 to $0.006, but this is far from its 12-month highs of $0.05 achieved in April last year. Hopefully with today’s news, investors can see some sustenance return to the stock as the Company establishes themselves in the authentication market.