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Jul 3, 2007, 7:27 pm (3 comments)
Eastern N.M. businesses say some prize money not being awarded
Eastern New Mexico retailers have accused the New Mexico Lottery of misrepresenting scratch-off games to the public by advertising prizes, then pulling the games before all the money is awarded.
The retailers, in a class-action lawsuit filed in state District Court in Albuquerque last week, allege the lottery has adopted a practice over the past several years of prematurely pulling games statewide while substantial cash prizes are available.
At the same time, the retailers said, the lottery promotes the games and entices people to buy tickets by posting top prizes still to be won.
Lottery spokeswoman Linda Hamlin said Monday that lottery officials were reviewing the lawsuit and that it would be premature to comment.
The lawsuit — which alleges unfair trade practices and negligent misrepresentation — asks the court to stop the New Mexico Lottery from prematurely discontinuing scratch-off games. It also asks the court to delineate the circumstances in which the lottery can pick up unsold games.
AP
This was a good lawsuit and iit puts loottery officials on notice people are watching ;
Ny covered its 'but" with a small comment written into law that allows it to modify at any time they wish any game or drawing " this is often used to pull-off large cash rip-offs and payOuts are small and few.....
Now, that's messed up! I remember late last year going to the Michigan lottery's website and checking to see which top remaining instant prizes were left. I even made a list of which instant tickets I'd buy based on the top remaining prizes. But I couldn't find any places that were still selling the tickets! It was very frustrating and annoying. This story reminds me of that experience.
Cry me a river. The state has a right to suspend or change games as they see fit, as long as nobody is cheated. The people who buy tickets while the game is available have odds that are determined by how many tickets were printed and how many prizes there are, and their results aren't affected by anything that happens later. The people who don't buy tickets before a game ends can't lose anything. Unless the state is making a habit of selectively pulling only the games that have sold fewer prizes than would be expected for the number of tickets that have been sold, there's nothing wrong with them deciding to stop the game early. There's nothing in the article that suggests that the lottery is doing anything unfair.
BTW, thanks for quoting the article. If you hadn't, we would never have known what your comments are about.