Each year, a great deal of public revenue is lost as consumers in Greece opt for a cheaper price or don’t insist on collecting receipts. In a bid to stop this, a suggestion for a receipt-based lottery is underway. Quite simply, the consumer has the option of sending the 9-digit Greek Taxpayer Identification Number (AFM) on the receipt received on a free SMS to a five-digit number. By doing so, the consumer is given an additional 10 euros on their cell phone or even the chance to enter a lottery to win 10,000 euros at the end of the month.

The Greek government estimates that the Public Sector could save as much as 500 million euros in 2015 if this method was applied, and the figures could as much as double over the coming years.

The lottery-based receipt collection has been in other countries for decades, whereas it was introduced in China in 2010. The Greek version is called @podeixi (apodeixi = receipt) and was patented five years ago by Greek researcher Vasilis Georgiou of the National Center of Scientific Research “Demokritos”.