Smart bin lottery ticket dispenser with calibrated ticket feed

A lottery ticket dispenser array includes ticket bins having a respective housing for receipt of a supply of interconnected lottery tickets, wherein each ticket in the supply has a calibration mark defined on a longitudinal side edge thereof. An electronic drive mechanism dispenses the lottery tickets through a slot defined in the back side of each bin housing. A calibration field is located relative to the slot such that the lottery tickets pass alongside the calibration field in a travel path of the tickets through the slot. An optical scanner is disposed internal to the housing at a location to read the marks in calibration field. Based on a position of the calibration mark of a leading ticket in the calibration field as detected by the scanner, a control system determines an adjustment to a length of the leading ticket to advance in a subsequent dispense cycle so that a separation line between the leading ticket and an attached trailing ticket is brought by the drive mechanism to a desired position relative to a separation device.