A software error for a California Lottery game is providing a special promotion over the next two weeks.
On Monday, the CA Lottery announced that prize amounts for the game Daily Derby were impacted for a subset of players.
Because of this, the state lottery will be boosting the prize pool for the game by $100,000 each day until July 27.
In total, one of California’s lottery draw games will add $1.2 million in rewards during the period.
What happened in the Daily Derby error?
Daily Derby is one of the eight unique draw games that the California Lottery offers.
In the game, players select two sets of three numbers. The first set represents three horses that will finish first, second, and third, respectively. The second set represents the winning race time.
When it comes to the error, the California Lottery says that Daily Derby was the only game impacted. It also only affected two specific kinds of lottery ticket machines under certain circumstances.
The error also only altered tickets for those who used Quick Pick. With that option, the gaming system selects the numbers for the players.
The issue caused the machines to produce tickets with numbers only in ascending order. The software also affected the race time number selections in some cases, with numbers only printed on tickets in ascending order and with no repeating digits.
The California Lottery was able to trace the error back to a programming mistake on the part of IGT, the state’s gaming partner.
Upon discovering the issue, the CA Lottery was able to correct the software within 24 hours.
How were California Lottery players impacted by the flawed tickets?
Those who purchased the tickets that were affected were receiving Quick Pick selections from a small fraction of possible combinations.
The California Lottery says that the odds for the player to win were not impacted. However, the lottery’s business analysts estimate that about 20% of the wagers were.
Despite the odds not being influenced, prize payments for winning tickets may have been.
Because the error resulted in a subset of players having access to only limited combinations of numbers, more winners were probably produced with each draw.
It was more likely that these limited combinations were selected than in cases where the winning numbers matched those from the larger pool of all possible combinations.
Sales from Daily Derby represent less than 0.5% of the state’s annual lottery revenue.
Special promotion to run through next week in California
Due to the computer error, the California Lottery started a special Daily Derby promo on Tuesday.
The deal will run for 12 days in total, concluding Saturday, July 27.
During that time, the overall prize pool for the game is boosted by $100,000 each day.
Winners at any level will have the opportunity to earn bigger prizes than they normally would.
In total, the California Lottery will put an additional $1.2 million into the Daily Derby prize pool. The money will come from IGT, not the lottery funds that go toward public education in the state.
If the grand prize is not won during this 12-day promotional period, the money will remain in the pot until someone wins it.
Photo by The KonG via Shutterstock
Graphic from the California Lottery
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