News writer; Opinion columnist
It’s every lottery player's worst nightmare. You finally match your lucky numbers to the winning set or rub your scratch-off ticket and see nothing but top prizes. But then something happens.
Maybe your dog chews it, your kid colors it, or your spouse spills coffee on it.
Your golden ticket to a better life has been turned to trash. What was once worth millions is now worth nothing … or if you live in the state of North Carolina, you might just get a second chance at your fortune.
Save the ticket
The North Carolina Lottery Commission will probably go the furthest of any state to help players restore damaged winning tickets.
They even restored a scratch-off ticket worth $1 million after the player threw it in the trash, thinking it was worthless.
“I thought it wasn’t a winner. I decided to double-check it, and that's when I realized I won,” the player said in an interview with the North Carolina Lottery.
When he brought his ticket to the lottery headquarters in Raleigh, it couldn't be validated because of its big rip. However, instead of telling him tough luck, officials with the lottery put the ticket through their reconstruction process. They were able to verify the ticket and pay out the seven-figure prize.
“That's a great thing that you guys do to help people with damaged tickets,” the player added. “I had no idea that some lotteries don't do that.”
For Joseph Cosgriff, the lottery's director of security, ticket reconstruction is an essential service to provide:
We take all available measures to ensure that all players get paid.
The process
If you have a damaged ticket that you think is a winner, your first step is to take it to the North Carolina Lottery's main office, where they'll assess the damage and determine the best steps to repair it.
For a scratch-off ticket, they'll work with the ticket's original printers to attempt to reconstruct it. However, for draw games, they'll handle the rebuilding process in-house.
If a ticket's barcode is destroyed, they'll use digital tools to enhance the ticket and attempt to determine the serial number, which can be used to validate it. They may even go to the retailer where the ticket was purchased to find critical details to help them reconstruct it.
On average, the North Carolina Lottery rebuilds 500 tickets a year, and they've fixed over 4,000 tickets in total since 2015. Approximately 85% of the tickets they've reconstructed turn out to be winners.
Prevent Damage
Of course, the best way to protect your ticket is not to let it get damaged in the first place. These are some steps you can take to ensure you never have to frantically reach for the scotch tape because your dog chewed on a winner.
The first thing to do is take a picture of your ticket. You'll need your actual physical ticket to claim a prize, but a photo of your undamaged ticket can help in the reconstruction process if it's damaged.
If the barcode on your scratch-off ticket is damaged, you can still manually input the serial number underneath.
Finally, while most lotteries let you mail in winning tickets to claim your prize, taking them in person is always a good idea. After all, no one can reconstruct a ticket that gets lost in the mail.
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