Method and system for authentication

A method for authenticating items, comprising:

• receiving a first identifier associated with an item to be authenticated;
• receiving a first decryption key associated with the item;
• decrypting the first identifier using the first decryption key to generate a second identifier;
• searching the contents of an authentication database to find a match for the second identifier;
• and
• if a match for the second identifier is found in the authentication database, confirming that the item is authentic.

A method for generating authentication information for a lottery ticket, comprising:

• receiving a first identifier, wherein the first identifier is associated with the lottery ticket;
• encrypting the first identifier using a first encryption key to generate a second identifier;
• generating a first decryption key to decrypt the second identifier;
• and
• outputting the second identifier and the first decryption key, wherein the second identifier and the first decryption key are associated with the lottery ticket.

A method for generating authentication information for items, comprising:

• receiving a first identifier, wherein the first identifier is associated with an item;
• encrypting the first identifier using a first encryption key to generate a second identifier;
• generating a first decryption key to decrypt the second identifier;
• and
• outputting the second identifier and the first decryption key, wherein the second identifier and the first decryption key are associated with the item.

A machine-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of executable instructions to be executed by a processor to implement a method for authenticating a lottery ticket, the method comprising:

• receiving a first identifier associated with the lottery ticket to be authenticated;
• receiving a first decryption key associated with the lottery ticket;
• decrypting the first identifier using the first decryption key to generate a second identifier;
• searching the contents of a lottery ticket authentication database to find a match for the second identifier;
• and
• if a match for the second identifier is found in the lottery ticket authentication database, confirming that the lottery ticket is authentic.

A method comprising:

• encrypting a first identifier using a first encrypting key to generate a second identifier;
• encrypting the second identifier using a second encrypting key to generate a third identifier;
• generating a first decrypting key and a second decrypting key;
• and
• printing on a lottery ticket the third identifier and the second decrypting key.