Virginia Lottery to award partial prizes for faulty game

Comment #18

grengrad — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:07:39 GMT

It is very clear that players cannot profit from errors.

We have all seen many cases where there was an error, and the player got NOTHING.

I commend Virginia on reaching what I think is a fair resolution to the problem.

Comment #17

KY Floyd — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:40:24 GMT

Yes, a bunch of whiners. The state and GTECH have already stepped up and paid far more than they owe. Rather than getting screwed, the players have done far better than they had any reasonable expectation of doing. That they got their hopes up is too bad, but that's all it is.

Comment #16

computerhead723 — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:10:12 GMT

thats BULL all lotterys are bent on the _ proff from customers that they are due compensation but when its them its

some other agency or not their mistake to print up winners ...75% of all instants are loosers....look they couldnt pay 609 people ;

out of the millions of tickets sold in virginia .....its a beat ....

Comment #15

jonstrue2u — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:57:38 GMT

This shows the truth that how some lotteries can be controlled!!! Computerized lottery drawings are not fair to the public and if we really knew our True odds of winning then we all would not play these kind of games and the different lotteries would Lose Alot of money!!!! I Wonder what (Jim695) thinks about this Error on this game, lol.

Comment #14

rwsmes — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:19:56 GMT

Homer Simpson is a cartoon, this is reality

Comment #13

rwsmes — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:18:23 GMT

The Virginia Lottery needs a wake up call. I think a class action lawsuit might be a start. They are wrong with the decision and other state lotteries have set precedent. The winners need a good lawyer.

Comment #12

time*treat — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:43:45 GMT

Overall, scratcher ticket sales could go up on people hoping to cash in on the next batch of misprints.

Comment #11

MaddMike51 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:23:43 GMT

Just because its legal doesn't make it right.These people were cheated and I'm betting that few of them will forget what the Virginia lottery did to them.I know I wouldn't forget.

Comment #10

RJOh — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:51:24 GMT

It's clear that players can't profit from any mistakes made on their lottery tickets.

The Virginia Lottery, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, determined that the Lottery must follow its official rules for the Fast Play Super 7's game. It is clearly explained on the back of every ticket that Tickets are void if stolen, misprinted, mutilated, incomplete or cancelled, or do not meet the State Lottery validation tests.

Therefore, as a matter of law, the Virginia Lotte... [ More ]

Comment #9

MaddMike51 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:31:39 GMT

Buncha whiners?

I don't think so.They spent their hard earned money on the tickets.The tickets said that they were winners.They should be paid the full amount of what the tickets say they won.It wasn't the customers fault that the tickets were misprinted.The state and GTECH need to step up to the plate and pay what they owe.The customers got screwed and it was the state and GTECH's fault.A blind man can see that!The only reason the state isn't paying the full amount is because the state knows... [ More ]

Comment #8

zxchris — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:31:44 GMT

they got something... buncha whiners.

They got 25% which is more than the 0% they should have been expecting before they even bought the ticket.

Comment #7

spy153 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:44:29 GMT

I think 2K is a reasonable substitution. It was a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. But to keep from making future mistakes, they should have to pay more than just the ticket price to compensate the consumer for false wins. If they didn't do something like they did here, I would not allow my husband to buy another single ticket in VA at all. No one deserves to be mislead continuously. And of late, that is what has been happening with the scratch offs and p3's (TN) and such. If they don't pay som... [ More ]

Comment #6

ThatScaryChick — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:17:59 GMT

I agree, but at least they are getting something. I was expecting them to not give the people with mistake tickets anything. Although, I think they did this to avoid lawsuits.

Comment #5

time*treat — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:34:38 GMT

More likely, in the future, they will add something along the lines of saying they are not responsible for misprints, errors, omissions, etc. beyond the cash cost of the ticket.

I'd say these guys should be happy with their (less than expected) profit, 'cause the next group will only get their 2 bucks back.

Comment #4

bashley572 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:28:53 GMT

It will be interesting to see what it does to ticket sales. If they DROP then VA will learn that they did the wrong thing by not paying in full. If they DONT drop then VA will know what they did is right.

Comment #3

LckyLary — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:38:36 GMT

Technically the right thing would be to pay all the holders of misprinted tickets $2 each. The problem is that even the $2K compensation although better than only $2 is still a letdown (or worse depending on one's financial situation) after thinking it would be $7777. There is still going to be significant negative publicity and from now on when someone gets a ticket that shows a big prize don't assume it's real and don't celebrate until the check clears from Lottery HQ. Be very careful with new... [ More ]

Comment #2

MaddMike51 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:37:53 GMT

GTECH is a major player in the lottery industry.Paying those people what their tickets say they won would go a long way in good will.And they can afford it.

Comment #1

wizeguy — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:20:07 GMT

Gtech said they take full responsibility... the way I see it they should compensate in full then.

Virginia Lottery to award partial prizes for faulty game

Lottery Post — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:24:29 GMT

Amounts to about 25% of full prize; some players disappointed

Lottery officials announced Thursday that people who had bought misprinted tickets for a recently added game that said they'd won will receive some compensation for the tickets.

According to a news release, they reached an agreement with its gaming services provider regarding the problem with the Fast Play Super 7's game. As a result, the Lottery, while not able to pay the expected prizes, is able to give some compensation to pl... [ More ]