SC Lottery error not paying winnings on game because of ‘programming error’

The South Carolina Education Lottery’s computer system vendor, Intralot, experienced a programming error on Christmas Day that impacted Holiday Cash Add-A-Play tickets, a $1 terminal-generated instant game, according to a news release.

From 5:51 to 7:53 p.m., the same play symbol was repeated in all nine available play areas on tickets which would result in a top prize of $500, according to the South Carolina Education Lottery. No more than five identical play symbols should appear for a single play.

As soon as the issue was identified, the Add-A-Play game was suspended immediately to conduct a thorough investigation. Instant (scratch) tickets and all other lottery games were not affected by this error, the South Carolina Education Lottery said.

Holiday Cash Add-A-Play game sales and validations will remain suspended until further notice. All players who purchased a Holiday Cash Add-A-Play ticket on Christmas Day during the time period affected are advised to hold on to their ticket(s) until the review is completed, according to South Carolina Education Lottery.

A further announcement will be made at the end of this week.

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 10:47 PM with the headline "SC Lottery error not paying winnings on game because of ‘programming error’."