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National Lottery computer fiasco cost winner £800,000News Story
A systems failure at the lottery operator Camelot caused terminals in shops to crash as they tried to issue tickets for the main Lotto draw and even halted Internet sales. The dramatic reduction in takings for the post-Christmas draw caused the jackpot to be trimmed from the 4.2 million (US$6.1 million) estimated on Christmas Eve to 3.4m (US$5m). Camelot apologized publicly after the problem which may also have prevented a potential jackpot winner from buying a ticket. A single player w
Dec 29, 2008, 9:54 am - Lottery News

How online gamblers unmasked cheatersNews Story
In the wild, wild west, when a poker player was caught cheating it was a capital offense, with the punishment quickly dispensed right across the card table. But today if you're caught cheating in the popular and lucrative world of Internet poker, you may get away scot-free. At least that seems to be what is happening in the biggest scandal in the history of online gambling. A small group of people managed to cheat players out of more than $20 million. And it would have gone undetected if i
Dec 1, 2008, 2:17 pm - Lottery News

Wisconsin Lottery does not make vendor pay for mistakesNews Story
The Wisconsin Lottery has repeatedly declined to seek the maximum amount of damages allowed against a contractor whose technical failures have disrupted ticket sales and operations, records show. The Lottery has contracted with GTECH Corp. since 1989 to operate its ticket system, including 3,200 terminals at retailers statewide and a related telecommunications network. Under the contract, the Lottery can assess damages when its telecommunications systems fail or tickets cannot be validated.
Nov 28, 2008, 9:28 am - Lottery News

Michigan Lottery replacing terminals statewideNews Story
Michigan celebrates 36th anniversary of state lottery As the Michigan Lottery turns 36 this week, about 11,000 lottery machines across Michigan are being replaced with new state-of-the-art terminals. The new Michigan Lottery terminals are smaller, faster and easier to use, with features including touchpad screens and laser printing instead of keyboards and the usual ticket paper. About 3,420 retailers statewide already have converted to the new machines. State's first lottery ticket
Nov 14, 2008, 10:42 am - Lottery News

Programming errors cause S.C. Lottery payout problemsNews Story
Software bugs discovered in new system The executive director of the South Carolina Lottery apologized to players Wednesday, a week after software glitches caused some lottery tickets to not be paid correctly. Ernie Passailaigue, who heads the lottery, said a myriad of problems surfaced last week but have since been fixed. He said the problems stem from the installation of a new software system. Some game tickets from the lottery's former game contractor didn't scan properly, he said, a
Nov 14, 2008, 9:42 am - Lottery News

Human error caused expensive Va. Lottery mistakeNews Story
New Game Generated More Than 600 Winning Tickets Debra and Raul Bennett are faithful lottery players, though in nearly 15 years of playing they never had won much more than pocket money. So on Sunday, when the retired Hampton, Va., couple realized they had a winning ticket from the Virginia Lottery's brand-new Fast Play Super 7s game, they were ecstatic. Plans for spending the $7,777 the game's top prize came fast and furious. But when the Bennetts went to the Hampton Virginia Lottery o
Oct 22, 2008, 6:44 pm - Lottery News

Virginia winners may have to pay for Lottery's mistakeNews Story
Sometimes lotto luck lies underneath the surface of a scratch-off ticket. Sometimes it lies in the bounce of a ball. And sometimes it lies with the Virginia attorney general's office. Hundreds of players thought they had struck gold when lottery terminals errantly spit out tickets that appeared to have won them as much as $7,777. Turns out it was a computer programming error, not lady luck. Now the state's top lawyers will consult with the Virginia Lottery to decide whether the players get
Oct 21, 2008, 8:33 am - Lottery News

Kansas Lottery officials mull GTECH systems failureNews Story
Kansas Lottery officials already had more than their hands full with the selection of gaming license applicants for their four casinos so they really didn't need another problem. But, there it is: a casino data systems failure from GTECH, the Providence-RI-based firm that manages the state's lottery activities. It was defective software, pure and simple, said Ed Van Petten, lottery executive director, in describing the systems failure. GTECH, a former publicly-traded American company, was
Jul 15, 2008, 11:00 pm - Lottery News

Software error stalls validation of some winning D.C. lottery ticketsNews Story
Glitch delayed winnings for several dozen ticketholders; cause still sought A mysterious software bug in 17 lottery machines used by the D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board in Washington left several dozen winning instant ticketholders unable to immediately cash their prize tickets last week. The problem, according to Jay Young, chief operating officer of the lottery board, was tracked to the proprietary software that validates instant tickets with winning numbers, but the exac
May 9, 2008, 8:46 am - Lottery News

Tennessee Lottery computerized drawings under suspicion againNews Story
Lottery draws same numbers 3 days in a row; same thing happened last month When will the Tenn. Lottery dump the computer draws? Seven was a lucky number for Tennessee lottery players last week. A very, very, very lucky number. For three consecutive days, the winning ticket in the Cash 3 drawing was some combination of two sevens and a zero. Thursday, the winning Cash 3 number at midday was 0-7-7. Friday, the winning midday number was 7-0-7. And Saturday evening, the winning number was a
Apr 8, 2008, 8:26 pm - Lottery News