Montana Millionaire Lottery Glitch Creates 2,000 Unexpected Winners, Forces Shutdown

An embarrassing glitch at the Montana Lottery Sunday (Nov. 1) handed out instant-win prizes at more than 11 times the expected rate, leaving the lottery’s technology supplier, Bally’s Intralot, on the hook for more than $600,000. Lottery officials suspended sales for the Montana Millionaire game at approximately 11 a.m. Mountain Time on Sunday, but not before 12,919 tickets had been purchased. Of those, 2,010 were instant winners, according to lottery director Bob Brown. That meant approximately one ticket was a winner for every six sold, compared with the intended odds of one in 74.