When people play the lottery, they hope they will beat the odds. Many do every day. Over time, a few have beaten the odds multiple times. Media reports on those players have posed the question if a few are “gaming the system.”

Security practices are in place to prevent players from gaming the system. The games, both the draw games and the instant games, are designed to award prizes on a random basis. The security practices of the N.C. Education Lottery are as strong as any in the U.S. lottery industry. The lottery has security measures in place designed to look for retailers who could be stealing lottery prizes from players or who turn in prizes for others seeking to avoid having taxes, debts to state or local governments or child support withheld from lottery prizes. The measures include both detective strategies to identify potential fraudulent activity by retail owners or their employees and investigative strategies to investigate suspicious activity, complaints or criminal conduct.

No system is perfect. There’s always someone trying to get around the rules. The lottery believes integrity is important to the lottery’s success and having public confidence in the lottery. And the lottery is continuously working to keep its security as strong as possible.

Here are some answers to questions that might arise.

How can someone win multiple lottery prizes?

Over time, if someone is playing lottery games regularly, they will have regular wins. The lottery knows how often someone has won. What the lottery doesn’t know is how much they spend in attempts to win prizes. In addition to frequent play, lottery prizes are won by luck, and some players are just luckier than others.

Given the odds, how could someone have multiple wins unless something unusual is going on?

The question is understandable. Lottery security officials look for unusual patterns in their work too. If an analysis concluded that the odds were too great for multiple wins to occur, key questions would be what assumptions about the frequency of play and the money spent on those purchases were used. The lottery knows how many times someone has won prizes of $600 or more, but it does not know how often and how much someone plays. Sometimes players beat the odds. Unless the lottery has evidence that a win is not legitimate, it must award the prize. It doesn’t matter if it is the first time someone beat the odds or the 20th time.

Is fraud something the lottery is concerned about?

Yes. The mission of the lottery is to raise money for education in North Carolina. The lottery can only accomplish that mission if people in the state enjoy playing its games and believe they are operated honestly. The lottery will do all it can to protect the integrity of its games. It has implemented the best security practices in the industry and will continue working every day to maintain those high standards. The lottery always takes action in cases where the lottery has evidence of fraud or misconduct.

How does the N.C. Education Lottery compare to other lotteries on the question of lottery retailers playing the games they sell tickets for?

Lottery retailers can play lottery games in all U.S. lotteries. One state lottery, the Hoosier Lottery, does not allow retailers to claim a prize if the lucky ticket was purchased at their store.

Do lottery retailers have policies governing employees playing the lottery?

More than 80 percent of all lottery retailers in North Carolina report having a “No Play on Duty” policy for employees, including 99 percent of corporate retailers such as grocery and convenience store chains.
Additional questions?

Please email playerinfo@lotterync.net and the lottery staff will provide an answer to your question.