Officials: Lottery Funds for State Not Affected by Glitch

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ South Carolina lottery officials say the money they give the state for school buses and college scholarships won’t be affected this year by a Christmas Day glitch that left the lottery potentially owing $33 million to players.

But interim South Carolina Education Lottery Executive Director Hogan Brown says it depends on an investigation and probable lawsuits whether the education system loses that money in the future.

Brown told the Education Lottery Oversight Committee on Thursday that for two hours on Dec. 25, the $1-a-play tic-tac-toe game, which generates images of trees, printed them in all nine slots.

Brown says it’s never happened before to a U.S. lottery retailer.

Under state law, Brown said, tickets produced in error aren’t paid. But he said the outcome depends on the investigation.