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Illegal lottery scams are on the rise, to protect yourself from becoming a victim:

• Never give your credit card numbers, bank account numbers or social security numbers over the phone or over the Internet to a business promising lottery jackpots.
• Never accept a collect phone call from someone claiming to be a lottery official. Legitimate lotteries do not call collect.
• Never believe a letter, phone call or Internet message from someone who offers you a guarantee of winning a prize or a secret system for winning a prize. Legitimate lotteries do not guarantee that you will win a prize. Legitimate lotteries also do not require people to join a prize pool in order to play or win.
• Never trust someone who says you can win the lottery by purchasing a set of "winning numbers" instead of a ticket. Legitimate lotteries require you to buy a ticket for a chance to win a prize.
• Never play a foreign lottery by phone, mail or Internet. It is against the law and increases your risk of falling victim to a scam.
• Never pay processing fees, insurance or commissions to claim a lottery prize. Legitimate lotteries do not require winners to pay anything upfront to receive their prize.

Although the LLC is not engaged in law enforcement, it aggressively promotes the "21" minimum age requirement by printing it on all tickets, news releases, sales material and signage, as well as reinforcing the message in retailer training and communication. In addition, the LLC is a member of the Louisiana Responsible Vendor Program which establishes mandatory training and certifies vendors on minimum age requirements for alcohol, tobacco and lottery sales.

The LLC is concerned about the issue of problem gambling. Toward that end, the Lottery includes the Department of Health and Hospitals' problem gambling hotline number on all tickets, advertising, news releases and sales materials as well as periodically conducting "play responsibly" public service campaigns. In addition, $500,000 of the LLC's annual proceeds transferred to the state are earmarked for problem gambling programs, as outlined in the Lottery's statute. For more resources on problem gambling and responsible play, visit the Play Responsibly section of this Web site.

Since its inception, the Lottery has contributed more than $1.8 billion, or more than $100 million a year, to the State of Louisiana. To generate the same in tax revenue would have amounted to approximately $653 per taxpayer. In addition to being a significant revenue stream for the state, the Lottery supports community events, fairs and festivals across the state. Indirectly, the Lottery fuels the state's economy by supporting other business, including retailers, technology vendors, local advertising media and the like.

Signing the back of your Lottery tickets discourages theft and helps identify the owner of the ticket. The Louisiana Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets as soon as possible after purchasing them and before claiming a prize at a retail location. Even if you are unsure whether the ticket has won a prize, it is still important to sign the back of it for security purposes prior to having the ticket scanned or validated at a retail location. An alteration to a signature on the back of a winning ticket worth more than $600 prompts a security investigation.

The Louisiana Lottery advises players to learn about how a game is played, the various winning combinations for the game and the odds of winning prior to playing. This Web site contains instructions, prize charts and odds of all the games the Lottery offers.

For instructions on playing scratch-off games, visit this page "How to Play Scratch-Offs" and click on the game you are interested in playing.

For instructions on playing draw-style games, visit this page "How to Play Draw-Style Games" and click on the game you are interested in playing.

If you believe you have won a prize of $600 or less you can redeem that at participating Lottery retailers. When presenting a ticket at a Lottery retailer, you may ask the clerk to show you a validation receipt indicating whether the ticket was a winner and if so, its value.

If you are told your ticket isn't a winner, you may request the return of the ticket. To report a problem or a concern with cashing a winning ticket at a retail location, please e-mail us at signitnow@louisianalottery.com.

Lottery players are encouraged to double check their tickets prior to leaving the store for any discrepancies or inaccuracies. Players are NOT required to purchase a misprinted ticket they do not want, provided they alert the retailer prior to leaving the store. Refunds cannot be issued for scratch-off tickets that have already been scratched or for draw-style game tickets in which the drawing has already occurred. To report a problem or a concern with purchasing a Lottery ticket, please e-mail us at info@louisianalottery.com.