ROCKY HILL — The Connecticut Lottery announced it’s suspending the sales and cashing of winning tickets in its “5 Card Cash” game.
This is an act the Lottery said is very unusual and follows an investigation that shows retailers may have manipulated it for their own gains. The game is suspended as it installs new software to enhance the security features of the game.
The Department of Consumer Protection discovered that some retailers may have intentionally manipulated the reporting mechanism on the terminal for their own personal benefit. It’s now investigating the situation.
The “5 Card Cash” game is the only game affected with this suspension. Those players who are looking forward to Friday’s “5 Card Cash” drawing will be able to cash their tickets as soon as sale resume. No word yet on when the suspension will be lifted.
The Department of Consumer Protection released the following statement on the investigation:
At this point, we believe that lottery sales agents were able to manipulate the lottery terminals producing a disproportionate amount of winning tickets. With the number of winning tickets being larger than usual, the state may have lost some revenue, for which full restitution will be sought as appropriate. Thus far, the investigation indicates the public was not harmed in any manner.
The game was shut down statewide. The CT Lottery will be installing new software to prevent any future manipulation of the terminals. This software will be tested to ensure the integrity of the game prior to resuming sales. Players with winning 5 Card Cash tickets, including winners for the November 13th drawing, will be able to cash their tickets as soon as sales resume, which could be as early as next week.
We have no further comment at this time. However, as the investigation unfolds, we may release additional information as appropriate.
