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Illinois state Lottery » Illinois Lottery cheques worth $159,000 bounce – January 18th 2012
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Many Illinois Lottery fans may have been left confused and annoyed recently, as dozens of cheques written out to winners of the state game bounced – although officials have insisted the problem has now been resolved and steps are being taken to ensure it does not happen again.
Written on December 28th, 85 out of the 311 sent out failed to be banked, resulting in winners wondering when their money would arrive in their account.
The cheques totalled $159,000 and, according to reports, most of them were addressed to those who had struck lucky playing scratch-off games.
Mike Lang, a spokesman for the lottery said the incident occurred when a computer file was not sent on time to the lottery‘s bank. Officials did not, therefore, key in the necessary security code for the cheques to be accepted by various banks.
He added that the incident may have also happened because many Illinois Lottery workers were on annual leave over the Christmas period, suggesting the necessary checks to ensure all systems were in place correctly were overlooked due to the offices being short-staffed.
Any fees incurred by Illinois Lottery winners because of this problem, Mr Lang states, will be paid for by the organisation.
He added that the lotto sends its apologies by sending free scratch-off tickets to those affected.
Anybody who wins more than $600 playing the Illinois Lottery can go to one of a selection of offices that issue cheques in the state.
Those affected were predominantly people who had won $1,000, but the largest individual cheque to bounce was worth $9,500.
When the winners deposited their cheques to their respective banks, they were initially accepted. But when they tried to withdraw the money, it was revealed the cash was not in their account.
Mr Lang revealed the problem was identified shortly after the cheques had been issued but added: “It’s something that we are not happy with and we’re taking steps.”
Such incidents may be a concern to lottery fans – no matter what particular draws they favour – but if they choose to play lotto online, they may reduce the chances of this happening to them.
