Digital draw system to replace numbered balls, new draw schedule
By Kate Northrop
The Powerball Group announced yesterday that the multi-state Lotto America game will move to digital drawings, starting next week.
Starting next week, Lotto America will no longer employ mechanical ball drawing machines, rather it will operate on a digital draw system to determine lottery results.
Lotto America, operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and sold by 13 U.S. lotteries, will switch over from traditional draw methods starting next week. The first digital drawing for the game will take place on Mon., April 17, 2023.
“The Lotto America Product Group is embracing digital draw technology as a way to modernize operations, while still delivering players the best possible entertainment experience,” Lotto America Product Group Chair and Minnesota Lottery Executive Director Adam Prock explained. “For players, the Lotto America game will continue to be played the same way, with the same draw nights, prize structure and $1 ticket price.”
Lotto America will employ an Origin Digital Draw System (DDS) from Smartplay International, a manufacturer of both traditional and digital drawing systems based in New Jersey.
According to Powerball, the Origin DDS is a stand-alone machine that is not connected to any system or network, so it cannot be accessed remotely.
“Just like drawings that use numbered balls and mechanical machines, digital drawings have rigorous security procedures that are multi-layered to protect the integrity of the game,” Prock said. “There are rules governing how the DDS are physically secured, who is authorized to access them, and how a DDS is selected for a specific draw.”
Lotto America drawings will take place in Johnston, Iowa in a dedicated draw room “under constant audio and video surveillance,” a press release states. The drawings will be supervised by an auditor from an independent firm to “ensure its integrity and verify the results.”
There will be two digital draw systems available for every Lotto America drawing. A coin flip will randomly determine which machine will be used prior to the drawing.
Each DDS will be physically secured in a double-locked cabinet and sealed with a unique numbered tag when not in use, a press release goes on to explain. Unlocking the cabinet takes two people — a draw manager and auditor who each know different combinations.
The Origin DDS will undergo a test at least once a year to check the software’s randomness and ensure that the machine cannot be accessed remotely. Prior to installation, they have been tested and certified by an independent gaming testing laboratory.
“We want players to know that digital and mechanical drawings produce equally random results and offer the same odds of winning,” Prock continued. “By streamlining our processes, we can position the Lotto America game for long-term success, so that it can continue to deliver vital funding to lottery beneficiaries for many years to come.”
There have been numerous instances in the past where software glitches and errors to do with digital drawings have caused lottery players to lose out on winnings in the past. We have detailed many of these cases in one of our YouTube videos that explain the drawbacks of digital drawings versus traditional mechanical ball drawings.
Lotto America was also re-launched as the replacement for the scandal-ridden Hot Lotto game in 2017 after it was revealed the former MUSL Security Director Eddie Tipton had rigged the Hot Lotto computerized drawings (among other games) to win large lottery jackpots for himself and his accomplices. You can watch the video we produced on that topic on our YouTube channel that goes into more depth about the entire scheme.
Lotto America draw times will also shift to an earlier schedule. As of now, Lotto America drawings take place after Powerball drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Beginning April 17, Lotto America drawings will be held before Powerball drawings, around 9:15 pm CT.
A COIN FLIP will determine which machine they use???
Really???
Will they have an auditor verify the coin has 2 different sides also?
Another RNG game not to be participated in, being offered in TN..... Excellent
"The Origin DDS will undergo a test at least once a year to check the software’s randomness and ensure that the machine cannot be accessed remotely."
Un hunh, surrrrre.....Maybe even quarterly, perhaps ???
Sorry MUSL, to this participant, RNG stands for Riggable Not Genuine.
I will keep my few hundred $$ and participate in something else. I am sure you won't care, then again, neither will I.
If it ain't broke don't fix it! Just like Vegas, you are winning, they change the cards, they change the dealer, any thing to disrupt your luck!
These idiots never learn.
Not feeling it.👎🏾
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
* As Admiral Ackbar famously said " It's a TRAP!"
These companies will do as they please. end of story.
We do not have this lottery in maryland. But maryland did switch all there games to rng. And I stopped playing. When ever I'm in a convenient and see someone buying tons of rng tickets I just shake my head. But long story short people keep buying these tickets. Powerball and Mega Millions are going to do the same. It honestly just fascinates me people still play. Especially after Edward Tippton and all that trash. I was hoping people would stop playing and md lottery would switch back. Guess not though .
Ok, this is just too easy "MUSL announces new head of Security ... Mr Ed Tipton"
They will never learn!!
I was expecting this. By now MUSL probably figures the Tipton scandel has died down and everyone has forgotten all about it. Lotto America was "Hot Lotto" which was the 5 out of 48 game that Tipton rigged. After they shut that game down, they later revived it as "Lotto America" and added 4 more numbers to make it look like a new game. They also said that it was a "ball drawn" game in which they never showed one actual ball drawing. MUSL took over the "Lucky for Life" game which was a ball drawn game and changed it to an RNG game being drawn everyday. I'm sure that they would probably like to make Powerball and RNG game also, but due to the excitement that very large jackpots bring, I doubt players would not be happy with just seeing the result of an RNG game. Waiting 2 years for a jackpot winner is way to long and that is because there are too many numbers in the game for the amount of players buying tickets. Also the prize structure is weak.
If you want MUSL to not switch to RNG's, then STOPP playin their Game..they'll git the message ReAl quick...
A few of the many ways to rig computer lotto drawings:
1. Rig the compiler. No amount of source code inspection detects this rig because no evidence of the rig ever shows up in the source code. The RNG is rigged to appear random, and passes statistical tests, but is actually fully determined on certain dates. Coder remains clueless.
2. Rig the hardware. As revealed in 2013 by Edward Snowden, the NSA loves this technique to hack encryption keys since no amount of source code or binary code inspection detects this hack. These attacks also avoid statistical tests. The NSA intercepts the computer hardware in the mail, makes the hardware change, and sends it on to the target -- a physical man-in-the-middle attack on the hardware. Here, the target is the computerized lotto drawer manufacturer or the Lotto. Again, the ideal target is the RNG and any hardware protected keys used to check if the RNG code has been tampered. The Lotto and computer drawing manufacturer remains permanently clueless that all of their lotto draws are rigged.
3. Rig the lotto source code. A lotto insider, a la. Eddie Tipton, changes lotto source code in a way that avoids statistical tests and change detection and logging checks. Tipton used kernal rootkits to avoid operating system detection. On today's computers, you'd also need to dodge TPM checks on the boot sequence.
4. Rig the lotto RNG at the computer drawer manufacturer with an insider in a way that avoids detection. Coder or hardware engineer insider would be ideal.
All computer drawn lottos deserve ZERO trust. Boycott all such lottos. Make all computer drawn lottos pay the penalty for lack of transparency to the players. A non verifiable Lotto deserves none of your money.
This is why I don't play the lottery in my home state. The only state-run ball-drawing game is Super Lotto Plus, which I won't play because the lower-tier prize payouts are too low for my taste.