ComplaintsforGeorgia Lottery Corporation

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  These numbers are being released across the us and Georgia is constantly ripping people off and repeating numbers . It's starting to feel like a scam now too many repeats . Thats not lottery . What is going on . $85 a week is $12 a day.$85 a week is $340 a month $340 a month is $4080 a year $4080 a year in 2023 multiplied by (x) ****** people =$53 Million Dollars.$53 Million Dollars multiplied by (x)The 16-Numbers BELOW = $848 Million Dollars.--1115 -1101 -1211 -1010 -1000 -333 -444 -101 Now multiply that $848 Million by 10.That's when it turns into $8.48 Billion Dollars.Where are those payouts totaling $25 to $30 Million dollars on 101., 444., 1115., and our DUE QUAD at??Not to mention all of the other numbers that we have wagered our monies against in the 10's of millions.

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  The Georgia Lottery is very serious about the security and integrity of our games. We go to great lengths to ensure that all of our games are fair and that each ticket has an equal chance of winning a prize.  We have no control over the numbers that are drawn nor where winners will come from.  The number selection in every drawing  is completely random.
   
  We encourage players to play responsibly while being mindful the lottery is a game of chance, and luck is a key element in becoming a winner. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  DIGGI GAMES ARE NOT REFLECTING WINNINGS. I WATCHED MY SELF WIN AND THE MONEY DID NOT CHANGE I SHOULD HAVE ****** OR MORE I DID THE **** AND I HAVE SCREEN SHOTS OF TRANACTION REPORT. I WOULD LIKE MY MONEY CREDITED INTO MY ACCOUNT. I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT NIGHT. I HAVE EMAILED SUPPORT AND DID CONTACT US AT BOTTOM OF GALOTTERY.COM PAGE.4043.1 WAS THE PURCHASES AMOUNT AND MY ACCOUNT SAYS 310 DUE TO NOT BEING CREDITED MY WINNINGS .

  Business response

  11/21/2023

  We have investigated *********** complaint and found that all wins up to and including $600 were properly credited to the players iHOPE wallet. The player had 2 wins over $600, which cannot be automatically credited to *********** wallet and must be claimed at a lottery office:
  $640 win on 11/11/23 for 50X the Luck Linked Wins
  $700 win on 11/11/23 for Shocking 6s
  
  The player should have received an email notification for each win with instructions on how to claim. Lottery district office locations can be found here: *******************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The ** lottery is ripping us off by not showing numbers falling, changing numbers and holding numbers etc..

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  The Georgia Lottery is very serious about the security and integrity of our games. We have no control over the numbers that are drawn. All Georgia Lottery drawings are conducted under stringent security measures to ensure the integrity and randomness of the results.  Additionally, drawings are certified by outside auditors.

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 09/5/2023 at 2:32 PM I won $250 playing keno. It was game ID#*******. Transaction id# c6604059-cc4d-4e28-8acc-f510af8377ab. I have a screenshot of the winning ticket and I notified ** lottery customer service. They said they did see that I had won but the funds were not deposited into my account and they would need to escalate. I have not heard anything back from them and my funds are still not in my account. I spend a lot of money with ** lottery and I don't appreciate being cheated in such a way. I would like my winnings credited to my account immediately.

  Business response

  09/07/2023

  Our customer-service team opened a ticket to investigate *********** issue when she called yesterday (9/5) and has resolved the issue. *********** winnings of $250 have been added to her iHOPE ************ wallet. A customer-service representative emailed and called the player today (9/6) to advise her that the winnings were deposited to her account.

  Customer response

  09/07/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 4th 2023 at 6:04:45 ET I won $500 on the ** lottery app game called Emoti collect. I have tried multiple venues and approaches to be able to withdraw my money to my bank account. I attempted to add my bank account information and I receive and error stating that my account cannot be added. It is a recognized bank, Navy Federal. I called the number that was associated with the error and was told that they didnt see any issue on their end (ihope). I am requesting that my funds are either discourses by mail to my address or they manually add my bank account information.

  Business response

  08/22/2023

  A customer-service agent contacted the player on 8/16/23 and received approval to send the player a check for the winnings. The check has been requested and will be mailed to the address on the account.
  
  The customer-service department has opened a case to determine why the player could not add the desired bank account and will contact the player with any updates.

• Initial Complaint

  08/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My issue is with GA Lottery, and the mobile APP.In June 2023, I was playing online, using my phone when all of a sudden, the Diggi Games started withdrawing money from my checking account, but the games would not load. I then tried to use my personal laptop to see if I could play the purchased Games-when I did this, the games did not load again ( like usual) and I logged out of my laptop, back to using my cell phone. No more issues.I contacted GA Lottery Players line to inform them of the situation and to see if I could be refunded funds due to this glitch. The representative advised me that there was a glitch in the software that week and that any refunds would be addressed.In July, I attempted to purchase Mega Millions or Powerball tickets, and received a message that my account was blocked due to suspicious activity! I have called and emailed the GA Lottery ****************** numerous times and this situation has not been resolved. I won a promotion prize of $20 and was just informed that GA Lottery will not honor that promotion.I just got off the phone today, August 3 ********************************************************************************* Lottery decided to keep my account blocked. No other details were provided.I have a problem with winning a promotion but now, I can't use the funds. I have a problem with not getting more information from GA Lottery, I was told that due to security reasons, GA Lottery cant give me more information. WHAT?! My social security number is tied to GA Lottery. I need to know what is going on.

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  Regarding the June purchases: Due to some technical issues, a few of the players games were stuck or could not be played. All money owed has been refunded, and the stuck games were auto-revealed, meaning that the outcome was revealed to the player and any prizes won were paid to her iHOPE wallet.
  
  Regarding the blocked account: To comply with federal and state regulations requiring players to be located within Georgia to purchase lottery games online, Georgia Lottery uses geolocation software to determine whether a player in within the state boundaries at the time of purchase. The software detects apps or software resident on the players device that can be used to fake or conceal a players location, and if detected, the player is not allowed to purchase and is blocked from future purchases. Such software/apps was detected on the players device on 7/4/23 resulting in their account being blocked.
  
  On 8/8, our customer-service contacted the player to advise them that if they agreed to remove the app/software from their device that is faking or concealing their location, we will unblock their account. The player contacted us on 8/9 for more details on how to find and remove such software/apps. When the player advises us that the software/apps has been removed, we will unblock the account and allow the player to purchase. 

  Customer response

  08/12/2023

   
  Complaint: 20418124
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I do NOT have any type of software installed on my personal phone or personal computer that will allow me to hide my location ( makes no sense). I emailed Ga lottery and asked for assistance on how to locate this type of software, is it a virus, and/or should I only play online games on my personal phone (instead of computer) and to only log into the GA lottery app to play games online. All players have the option of logging into the ga lottery website to also play online games, and I believe this is what caused the security breach.

   

   I have not received an answer from this organization as of today on some guidance. I was only told that if I receive another security breach, I will be permanently barred and my galottery account closed. I asked for help on how to avoid this and no response.

   

  Additionally, I was not refunded like their representative stated NOR did the game auto reveal---my problem with their response is that no one can verify this information. I was not refunded and I did not have an auto-reveal. Their representative informed (at that time) that it was a system-wide glitch in the system--I am going to see if I can check my account and provide a copy of my bank statement--but this will take time. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Ms **************

  Business response

  08/16/2023

  Regarding the refunds and auto-reveal: The player was awarded all winnings owed for Diggi Games purchased on 6/14/23. Our records show that the player purchased multiple Diggi Games across multiple sessions on 6/14, totaling $105. She was paid a total of $140 in prizes for those games.
  An auto-reveal refers to the automatic reveal of the outcome of a game that the player did not finish playing with 60 minutes of the purchase time, for either technical reasons or personal reasons. The player is sent an email informing them of the game outcome, and any resulting prizes are paid to the players wallet.
  Our customer-service representatives have contacted the player to advise her of the types of location-concealing or -spoofing software that might be resident on her device(s). A VPN (virtual private network) is an example of such software. If the player desires additional assistance in locating the software, we encourage her to contact the Player Information Hotline at 1-800-GA-LUCKY ***************).
  Her account is currently unblocked, but if she attempts to play again and location-concealing or -spoofing software is detected, we will have to block it again, close the account, and refund the player the balance of her account. The player may continue to purchase Georgia Lottery games at retail.

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On July 3 I had 2 winning tickets that totaled 275 dollars I went back to the store that I purchased them at and they scanned the tickets and told me they could only give me *************************************** lottery tickets so I told them I wanted my money because I had reservations and was going on vacation but they still refused to pay me.last night the police department had to go out to the same location because they were trying to do the same thing.the store is called ******* Convenience Store located in ****** **. The police officer told me to call and make a complaint to the lottery company so I did and now Im filling a complaint to you about them.thank you for your time.

  Business response

  07/21/2023

  Our District manager made contact with Mr. ******************* and discussed his concerns at length.  He did accept the $200 cash payment and $75 credit in lottery tickets.  He accepted this only because tickets had been validated. He would have rather had full payout in cash.   
  
  Police were not involved in this situation.  He did speak to a friend with local police about the matter, and he advised player to contact GLC.  He appreciated our quick reply and investigation.  No further contact required with player.

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was staying in GA and uploaded $20 to my balance. I moved outside of GA and was not able to withdraw my balance. I keep getting tickets filed with no solution. I would like my money mailed to my address outside of GA like I was first told or I would like my money placed back on the card they took it off of. First I was told I would get a check in the mail then I was told they cant mail me a check outside of GA then I was told to give them an address in GA for the check to get mailed to. BUYER beware they will take money off any card but when its time to deposit the money back its not that easy. First you need a PayPal or ACH information to get your winnings or deposit. If the 3rd party vendor company they use deny you from adding you bank info then you have no way of getting your money and customer service is not helping you get it back. ************* and they should be investigated. I bet there are more people like me who would think the same way you added money on your account is the same way you would be able to withdraw it but its not. This is not fair business practices.

  Business response

  08/01/2023

  We refunded $20 to the players debit card on 7/19/23. It can take 3 to 5 business days for the refund to be processed. We advise the player to call our Player Information Hotline at 1-800-GA-LUCKY ***************) in a few days if the refund is not yet available.

• Initial Complaint

  07/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After six weeks of trying to get a resolution from Georgia Lottery due to an apparently fraudulent digi game I played, I have had no luck. On May 26, 2023, I Played Fortune fest and I won $36. When I went to claim the price it gave me an error code *****. It would not let me claim the money, I tried repeatedly and it still show that I won but just give me the same error code. A few hours later I received an email stating that I won nine dollars. That was not true at all. I have no idea where the nine dollars comes from. I took screenshots. I reached out to customer service and spoke with *****. He stated that he would escalate my complaint, and for me to send my screenshots. They sent me canned emails for six weeks saying they were working on the issue , when I finally emailed them AGIAN pushing for a response, they sent me a list of all my transactions which I already have access to in my account. Still not answering my original request. At this point who cares about the $36 its about principle and customer service, correct the issue explain why it happened. Do not allow customers to have to wait and be ignored for a valid complaint. I cant trust Georgia lottery what if I would have won $500 and this happened. These dizzy games are supposed to be honest and I understand technology can go wrong, but it is a customer service job to explain or fix the situation. This has not happened at all and its been since May 26.

  Business response

  07/20/2023

  A maintenance session taking place during the same time as the players gameplay resulted in a number of players, including the complainant, not receiving the correct amount of winnings paid to their account. We have begun the process of crediting these players.
  
  This player is due a $27 credit, which they should receive in their iHOPE wallet this week.

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ** lottery will not issue me my winnings Ive called and got the run around its a scam

  Business response

  07/12/2023

  We researched the players case and found that she had contacted our Player Information Hotline on 7/5/23 to request a check for approximately $182.70 in winnings from her iHOPE account. She stated that she had attempted to transfer the winnings from her iHOPE account to her bank account and her PayPal account but was unsuccessful.
  
  Our customer service agent informed the player that it can up to 30 business days for a check to be mailed, which the player found unsatisfactory. However, that is the time frame for processing and mailing checks for prizes won online for amounts up to and including $600. We urge all online players to transfer their winnings directly to their bank account or to a PayPal account with a bank account attached to avoid the delay involved in processing and mailing a check.
  
  The check has been requested and is in process.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩