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Hoosier Lottery drama: Man denied $100K jackpot over "technical issue": Reports

By
FOX Local
Lottery
Published June 15, 2026 1:36 PM MST
Published June 15, 2026 1:36 PM MST
article

FILE - Hoosier Lottery logo. (Hoosier Lottery)

The Brief

    • Indiana lottery officials halted sales of a new scratch-off game after a "technical issue."
    • One player who believed he had won $100,000 was later told his ticket was actually worth just $20.
    • The Hoosier Lottery is reviewing the issue and asking affected players to submit protest forms while a resolution is determined.

An Indiana resident was left stumped after it appeared he won $100,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket, only to be told that his winnings only amounted to $20 due to a "technical issue," according to a local news report. 

Dig deeper:

The Hoosier Lottery announced it had stopped the sale of its newly launched $5 Space Invaders Cash Invasion Scratch-offs after a "technical issue" was discovered.

The lottery never elaborated on what the technical issue was, but one of the winners of the $100,000 jackpot contacted FOX 59 after being told he actually only won $20.

Local perspective:

Mike Fields was one of the winners of the huge jackpot and even drove to the Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Downtown Indianapolis to claim his winnings, but was turned away, according to FOX 59.

Another man who purchased the same scratch-off thought he had won $2,500, according to a New York Post report.

And just like Fields, he drove to the lottery headquarters, only to be told the game was experiencing a system glitch and he would be receiving the money.

What they're saying:

Angela Ganote, an anchor at FOX 59, shared the story on Facebook and people flooded the comments in support of Fields.

"It says get a rocket, win prize instantly. Sounds like they owe the man $100K!" one person commented. 

"Case closed it says if it matches the rocket he won." another wrote. 

"Looks like the lottery owes him $100K!"

Officials quickly pulled the scratch-offs from service and issued an advisory on its website that read: 

"The $5 SPACE INVADERS™ Cash Invasion Scratch-off launched with a technical issue. We halted the sales of the ticket to ensure the game experience upholds the integrity we strive to provide." 

What you can do:

If a player experienced an issue with these particular scratch-off tickets, they are asked to complete fill out protest forms, here. 

Forms must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2026. 

For any more information, customers can call the Hoosier Lottery at 1-800-955-6886.

FOX has reached out to the Hoosier Lottery for comment.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from reporting by FOX 59, the New York Post and the Hoosier Lottery website. This story was reported from San Jose. 

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