After 15 years, Iowa Hot Lotto lottery game will soon be retiring after players became less enthusiastic about its $1 format. As per Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer, all 13 states that sell Hot Lotto will soon transition to Lotto America this fall after reviewing its performance.
Lotto America recently unveiled the Sizzler tripler prize option, providing players who spend an additional dollar per play with an opportunity to triple non-jackpot winnings and increase odds of hitting jackpot prizes by one in 29! Officials believe these changes will drive sales while providing new reason to look forward to Lotto America games.
In 2017, a former multi-state lottery security director was found guilty of using computer code to manipulate Hot Lotto games across five Hot Lotto states from 2005-2011, earning himself more than $20 Million across five Hot Lotto states – according to Rob Sand’s new book “The Winning Ticket: Uncovering America’s Biggest Lottery Scam”. Rob joined A&E True Crime’s podcast series Crime Watchers for further insight into this scheme.
Sand believes Eddie Tipton, security chief for the Multi-State Lottery Association based out of Des Moines, Iowa used a thumb drive to gain entry to the drawing room prior to January 26’s Hot Lotto draw and install rootkit software which allowed him to restrict which numbers could hit while simultaneously hiding its existence until it eventually deleted itself later on.
Multi-State Lottery decided against ordering a rebuild of its random number-generating software used in 17 states including Iowa after learning of its scam. Instead, its vice president recommended suspending four popular games such as Hot Lotto due to serious flaws in its program.
Eddie Tipton was recently sentenced to 25 years behind bars after admitting rigging the Hot Lotto lottery game and amassing more than $20 million from winnings over three years through manipulating its system. Investigators investigating Tipton’s other crimes discovered this fraudulent scheme which allowed him to claim over $20 million.
Iowa Supreme Court overturned Tipton’s conviction, yet he still faces charges related to other lottery-rigging schemes, such as bribery, forgery, money laundering and mail fraud.
Hot Lotto was officially retired amid considerable controversy in October 2017. As its successor, Lotto*America will offer smaller top prizes than Powerball or Mega Millions; however, unlike Powerball or Mega Millions, its state lottery will pay withholding taxes so more of the advertised winnings stay in winners’ pockets – an unprecedented move by any standard lottery industry standard! Many lotteries had previously refused this practice and also reduced prize sizes in an effort to increase odds of winning-known as “jackpot compression.” However, Lotto*America could offer jackpots as high as $350 million making it one of the world’s largest games!