Revamped Mega Millions Begins After Virginia Ticket Mix-Up

The first draw under the new Mega Millions rules took place last night, but a technical issue in Virginia meant that some players were sold tickets for the old number matrix and left with no chance of winning the jackpot.

What Went Wrong in Virginia?

The Mega Millions changes included the number of main balls being reduced from 75 to 70, with the number of Mega Balls increased from 15 to 25. The Virginia Lottery, however, accidentally sold 323 tickets under the old format, with the previous price point of $1 per line rather than the new $2 cost.

The glitch involved 628 lines, including 182 which had a number greater than 70, making it impossible for those ticket holders to win the jackpot. Depending on the Mega Ball drawn, all the remaining lines may also have been left with no chance of winning. As it turned out, the winning Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday were 6, 28, 31, 52 and 53, with Mega Ball 12.

Virginia Lottery Apology

The Virginia Lottery has apologised for the mistake and pledged to honour all tickets sold during the disrupted time frame. John Hagerty, a spokesperson for the lottery, said: “We've been working to get the word out to those Mega Millions players because it's important for every ticket to have the same chance of winning a prize. Even though relatively few people are impacted, we want them to know that all of those tickets can be refunded along with the price of a new ticket, and any prizes won will be honoured."

Nobody won Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot, which stood at its new minimum value of $40 million, but hundreds of thousands of players across America picked up prizes. Take a look at the World Lottery Results page for more information.

Fans of the game can now look forward to the next draw on Friday night, when the jackpot will be up to $48 million. Tickets can be bought online from authorised retailers in participating states, or numbers can be chosen online.

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Article Last Modified: Tuesday, 6 November 2018 15:54:43+00:00
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