Thousands of United Kingdom Lottery players have been given free draw entries to make up for technical problems with computer-generated ticket numbers.
A database glitch hit entries for the new Dream Number game last month, operator Camelot said yesterday.
Some entries bought online or by text in the four days to July 17 did not contain the digit nine.
They were still entered for draws on either July 15 or July 19 — both of which contained the digit nine somewhere in the seven winning numbers.
A Camelot spokesman said all entries had still been valid, with some of the players winning prizes.
It is impossible to say how many people were affected by the glitch, he added.
The Dream Number game was launched last month to raise extra funds for the 2012 Olympics.
Players win £2 for matching the first number picked in the draw, rising to £10 for the first two numbers and up to £500,000 for matching all seven numbers in the order they are drawn.
The winning numbers on July 15, in the order they were picked, were eight, two, three, zero, eight, three and nine.
Numbers drawn on July 19 were four, nine, six, five, zero, nine and four.
A Camelot spokesman said, "In some cases players' digits may not have included the number nine when they otherwise could have done.
"The issue, the result of a database error, was quickly identified and fixed, and all Dream Number tickets issued over this brief period were valid.
"As a gesture of goodwill we are providing free plays to interactive players who may have been affected."
It was a glitch for online and text (cellphone) purchases of tickets. In the UK you can get tickets by internet, phone or in the store. Unfortuneately you have to live there to order the tickets on the internet.
The UK lottery uses mechanical ball drawings. One only has to wonder how many "glitches" go either unnoticed or unreported in RNG drawings.
At least they are providing free plays.
What was the important glitch? Is this game computerized or ball drawn?
It was a glitch for online and text (cellphone) purchases of tickets. In the UK you can get tickets by internet, phone or in the store. Unfortuneately you have to live there to order the tickets on the internet.
The UK lottery uses mechanical ball drawings. One only has to wonder how many "glitches" go either unnoticed or unreported in RNG drawings.
When the Arizona Lottery went to computerized draws for its Pick 3, the digit '9' was not programmed in the drawing machine.