INDIANAPOLIS — The Hoosier Lottery is investigating why more than 600 lottery tickets were sold and appeared to be winners. The lottery said it’s now working to find the source of the issue.
The issue was first reported Sunday morning involving the new $20 Golden Jackpot Fast Play game. The lottery said the issue was that tickets showed winning numbers, but then “could not be validated as a winning ticket through the mobile app or at retail.”
Sunday was the debut of the $20 Golden Jackpot Fast Play game. Retailers were told to stop selling the game by noon Sunday, but still, 632 tickets with the issue were sold.
Justin Mucker said he bought two $20 Golden Jackpot Fast Play tickets in Monticello.
“I thought, ‘Wow, we won $5,000,’” said Mucker.
However, when he scanned the tickets, they did not show as winners.
John Garmin said he, too, bought two tickets in Tipton. Both showed he won $5,000. When he tried to buy a third at a different location, he said, “They shut the game down and they're not paying out right now."
We met Garmin at the Hoosier Lottery’s Indianapolis office filling out paperwork.
Over the phone, a lottery employee said people with $20 Golden Jackpot Fast Play game tickets should take a picture and send it to info@hoosierlottery.com.
Hoosier Lottery said it sent an alert to all retailers on Sunday for them to notify players to keep their tickets, reporting it will also post information on its website and respond to people on social media.
The plan is to also send a push notification to myLottery members and people who scan their ticket on the mobile app between March 20-22.
No word if people will get their winnings. The Indiana Administrative Code states if "a lottery ticket contains a production defect which makes validation of the ticket impossible, the ticket is void and the commission shall not be liable or responsible for the award of any prize..."
But people aren’t getting the same ticket with the same numbers. Garmin and Mucker showed 13News four different tickets, with four different sets of winning numbers.
"It is crazy,” Mucker said.
They don't want a refund.
"I want them to honor the ticket,” Mucker said.
Both men said they would likely still play lottery if they just received a $20 refund. However, Mucker doubts he’ll play a Fast Play game in the future.
Unlike a scratch-off, which is printed ahead of time, Fast Play tickets are computer generated and printed when you buy. There’s not a drawing to wait for. Instead, players know instantly if they have won a set dollar amount or a growing jackpot.
Hoosier Lottery said it is working with its vendor to determine what caused the issue.