The Hoosier Lottery is under criticism for allowing scratch-off tickets to be sold after the big prizes have already been won.
That complaint is not completely valid, but it's not completely wrong, either.
Lottery spokesman Andrew Reed explained the process.
Once the top prize has been claimed, the lottery staff and 4,000 retailers are notified that the game is being shut down. Rounding up all those tickets takes time.
In 2007, Hoosier Lottery officials began putting messages on the back of tickets saying they may remain on sale after the last big prize is claimed, during this game closing process.
Some gamblers don't mind playing the game for secondary prizes, which can be quite generous.
But it shouldn't take long to notify all the staff and retailers that the top prize in a particular game has been claimed. That information, at least, should be provided to the customers right away.
There are 45 to 50 scratch-off games operating at any one time, Reed said, with about three new games introduced every three or four weeks. Gamblers have plenty of other options to choose from.
The issue came to light last weekend when The Indianapolis Star reported the Hoosier Lottery sent a message to retailers late last week telling them to remove three games from circulation.
The $20 Solid Gold game's final million-dollar prize was claimed May 28, but tickets continued to be sold, the Star reported.
State lotteries across the country have been criticized in recent months for selling games for which there is no longer a hope of winning the top prize. In June, a business professor sued the Virginia State Lottery over this practice.
It is only fair to pull remaining instant-win tickets quickly after the big prize has been won. To continue to sell tickets that have no hope of winning the major prize is misleading to players.
Hoosier Lottery officials should accelerate the game-closing process to instill more confidence among gamblers. Notify retailers immediately and instruct them to inform the public, and quickly pull those tickets from the vending machines and other retail locations.
