Lottery fraud is any act devoted to defraud a lottery game. A perpetrator attempts to win a jackpot prize through fraudulent means. The goal is to defraud the organisation operating the lottery of money, or regarding a stolen lottery ticket, to defraud a person of their legitimately won prize.
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A few common techniques are used, including having a forged or altered lottery ticket to claim a prize, or presenting a geniune, stolen ticket to claim a prize through misrepresentation. Additionally, there are cases of insider fraud, where employees or agents confusing in lottery have exploited their position to fraudulently claim prizes for themselves, such as for example tampering with the lottery draw procedure itself. In lots countries, players can present their lottery tickets personally at shops to be certain of for winning numbers at the very thought of sale; cases possess emerged of retailers failing woefully to inform customers of their winnings and claiming the prizes for themselves.
An alternative sort of lottery fraud. categorised as a lottery scam, takes the right execution of informing a person by email, letter or mobile call they have won a lottery prize. The victim is generally instructed to get a fee to enable the nonexistent winnings to get ready yourself. This kind is some kind of advance-fee fraud and a common email scam.
Noted cases
Numerous high-profile cases have emerged of lottery fraud worldwide. A counterfeit ticket scandal was recorded in 1913-1914 which involved fake tickets from the Cuban lottery available in Puerto Rico, South Florida and the West Indies. The fraud was perpetrated by Cuban officials in the lottery. Through the 1960s, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's early petty criminal activities included selling fake lottery tickets. In 1999, a case of draw tampering emerged in Italy when the balls of the national Lotto were treated with varnish or heated. The blindfolded children who drew the winning numbers were then secretly instructed to choose preselected numbers by sense for treated balls.
Canada
Between 1999 and 2006, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) was vunerable to widespread retailer fraud. Authorities remarked an improbably many lottery retailers in Ontario have already been winning major prizes, from $50,000 to $12.5 million. Evidence emerged that one retailers were failing woefully to inform customers of their winnings if indeed they offered their lottery tickets in-store, and fraudulently claiming prizes for themselves. A written report found proof widespread insider fraud among lottery retailers, including collusion with employees and family. Four OLG officials have already been fined and dismissed.
United States
In 1980, Nick Perry, TV host of the Pennsylvania Lottery, was at the centre of the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal, a fraud that involved creating replicas of the state ping-pong balls within the Pennsylvania Lottery machines. The specially weighted balls ensured that limited combinations of numbers were apt to be drawn. Perry's accomplices then purchased a lot of tickets around the state corresponding to the predicted draw results, enabling them to claim approximately $1.8 million in prize money. Suspicions were aroused when authorities remarked that lots of tickets have been purchased for the eight possible combinations. On 20 May 1981, Perry was convicted of criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief, theft by deception, rigging a publicly exhibited contest and perjury, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. His accomplices have already been also tried and convicted.
In 2017, in the Hot Lotto fraud scandal, Eddie Raymond Tipton, former information security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), rigged a random number generator to defraud the Hot Lotto lottery game of $14.3 million. On 20 July 2015, Tipton was found guilty on two counts of fraud and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Subsequent criminal investigations revealed that Tipton had also rigged other state lotteries: the Colorado Lottery in 2005 ($568,990 jackpot prize paid to Tipton's brother Tommy); the Wisconsin Lottery in 2007 ($783,257 prize paid to Tipton's accomplice); and the Oklahoma Lottery in 2011 ($1.2 million prize). Tipton was tried again in 2017 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.