Georgia Lottery Scratch Games' Empty Promises

Comment #9

LOTTOMIKE — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 12:09:17 GMT

lol,they take their time getting there because they know some people don't know that all winning tickets have been sold and they'll make extra money selling the rest......

Comment #8

lazyjim — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 10:44:14 GMT

The info on Arizona's policy isn't quite accurate. I've asked them about it and they said they don't end the game immediately when the top prizes are gone but rather they have their people pick up the remaining tickets on their next visit to the vendors, which in their words can take some time.

Comment #7

ajaxdog — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 22:44:11 GMT

Delaware updates the instant prizes remaining page every week. They are pretty clear about pulling games off the market when the last top prize is claimed. Seems to me that any state that doesn't do that is going to end up being sued. Its pretty much a simple case of false advertising if they leave a game on sale that can't possibly award the top prize printed on the ticket. Burying a disclaimer in the fine print on an instant ticket surely isn't going to cover them. Hell, I can't read print tha... [ More ]

Comment #6

LOTTOMIKE — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:33:34 GMT

i noticed here in tennessee some are still selling scratch offs past due date,i quit buying em anyway,i play numbers.......

Comment #5

luckylady — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 19:48:00 GMT

The Georgia Lottery website has now added the feature of letting everyone know just how many top prizes were originally available and how many have already been claimed. Now after looking at the website, I have changed which tickets I now buy. Yesterday, channel 46 news aired a report on this same subject and according to their report, GA Lottery still continues to sell tickets even after all the top prizes have been claimed since the remaining tickets still have some high payouts.

Comment #4

mrmst — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 18:30:34 GMT

Hmmm, Maryland sells instant scratch-off games but is not listed in either list above. I don't know for sure, but I think they continue to sell even if the top prize has been won.

Comment #3

qutgnt — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 18:09:09 GMT

Yes the information is very good in the article. I just want to know why some states play games and are lazy and dont update information as thoroughly as it should be updated. I find it laughable when I go into a store here in Illinois and see sheets of paper hung up with the remaining prizes list and you find out that it is like a month old. All states should update it on their websites daily. But I guess doing it weekly gets you some leeway and allows you to sell some extra tickets in a so... [ More ]

Comment #2

Todd — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 17:44:43 GMT

I thought this information was amazingly comprehensive. It's really great to be able to compare all the state policies side-by-side like this.

Comment #1

qutgnt — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 17:35:51 GMT

I think that it is up to the public to do their due diligence to know what prizes are left in the games they like to buy. If states want to sell tickets until the inventory runs out that is fine, but some states need to do a way better job of letting the public know what prizes have been claimed. Illinois on their website updates remaining prizes only once a week at best which I think is horrible. Iowa does it almost daily. In this automated age why cant each states website do it daily

Georgia Lottery Scratch Games' Empty Promises

Lottery Post — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:31:48 GMT

Most players know the odds of getting rich from the Georgia Lottery are slim, but a recent investigation found you have no chance of winning the top cash prize when you play some scratch-off games.One of those games is 5 Karat Gold, a $1 instant game. Records from the Georgia Lottery show the game has no top prizes left because they were all claimed by mid-November.If I already knew that, then there's no way I'd buy this ticket, said player Brian Wright. That would be a false investment. Additio... [ More ]