Michigan Retailers Buying Winning Lotto Tickets Back From Indebted GamblersAudit Reveals Illegal Practice Is Somewhat Common In State |
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An audit in Michigan has revealed that some stores selling lottery tickets in the state are buying back winning tickets—likely at a discount—from players who have some kind of debt, according to reporting from livingstondaily.com.
Winners who don’t want to alert the government that they won are seeking cash from stores, and some are catering to this demand. The audit said 37 store owners across the state turned in winning tickets worth nearly $3.6 million in 2012 and 2013.
Buying the tickets at a discount from “winning” players is illegal.
Roughly 11,000 businesses in Michigan sell lottery tickets.
The practice apparently came to light after several stores didn’t report their lottery winnings on their 2012 tax forms. The report stated that no stores were named in the audit. Though, the audit recommends that further investigation should take place to crackdown on the activity.
It is not uncommon for retailers to turn in winning tickets, but the audit could lead to automatic investigations into any store that claims more than $20,000 in winning tickets in a year.
State officials could also demand to know how a store obtained a winning ticket.
Michigan allows online lotto purchases, but doesn’t have legal online poker.
Image via CNN.
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