Monday, November 3, 2014

Lottery Audit Raises Concerns in Massachusetts

An audit conducted on the Massachusetts State Lottery has raised concerns that the system used for scratch-off tickets may be vulnerable to abuse.

Released on Thursday, October 30, 2014, the audit reveals the lottery has failed to complete documentation necessary to confirm valid scratch-off tickets returned by terminated lottery retailers have been properly accounted for and destroyed.

The audit also suggests the lottery has not been taking sufficient measures to prevent retailers from scanning unsold tickets to check if they are winners.

Auditor Suzanne Bump pointed out the lottery had $4.73 billion in overall sales in the 2012 fiscal year and said it was critical for its integrity to be protected.

The lottery has already implemented changes to prevent the possibility of abuse.