Lawsuit accuses Illinois Lottery manager of fraud in instant games

Three lottery players and a downstate bar have accused the Illinois Lottery's private manager of defrauding scratch-off players and retailers after a Tribune investigation found the lottery did not award many of the biggest prizes in its biggest instant games.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in St. Clair County, the plaintiffs cited a December article in the Tribune that examined the lottery's practices in the years after the state handed over its management to a private firm, Northstar Lottery Group.

The lawsuit goes beyond the findings in the Tribune investigation, and asserts that the players' odds were affected by Northstar's actions. Northstar has said that even if all grand prizes were not awarded in games, the odds of winning were the same for each individual ticket.

Northstar has faced calls for investigation by lawmakers since the article was published and also is in the process of being replaced by the state as lottery manager.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-lottery-lawsuit-met-20170207-story.html