News writer
Over 200 lottery tickets are being refunded from South Carolina’s CASH POP game drawing on Monday, November 17. These tickets were printed in error.
The misprint
CASH POP drawings take place Monday through Saturday at 12:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and every evening at 6:59 p.m. Each ticket says “day” or “eve” below the draw dateline. On the Monday draw, customers bought tickets for consecutive drawings, which led to a glitch on 214 of them. Terminals printed the word “all” instead of “day” or “eve” on these tickets.
Unfortunately for any of those players who thought they had a winning ticket, it was, in fact, a misprint. According to the South Carolina Code, prizes that arise from a misprinted ticket can’t be paid out.
How to get a refund
If you’re one of the players who bought a misprinted ticket - which cost $1, $2, or $10 each depending on the customer’s wager - you can mail in your ticket for a refund. Players must drop off their tickets at the Lottery Claims Center in Columbia, or mail their original tickets to S.C. Education Lottery, P.O. Box 11039, Columbia, SC 29211-1039, along with their name and return address. The lottery will also reimburse for postage incurred.
But players have to hurry. Refunds are only available until January 16, 2026. If the lottery doesn’t receive these tickets by then, the refund is nullified.
Can I still play CASH POP?
Yes. The error did not halt CASH POP gameplay. The lottery’s terminal vendor, Brightstar, fixed the issue, and the game resumed as normal. Those with misprinted tickets are also free to keep playing.
About CASH POP
CASH POP is a popular South Carolina state draw game.
Players choose one Pop, or one number, from 1 to 15. Players can choose up to 15 pops per play, which would ensure a win. Each ticket has a prize printed on it per pop. If the pop number is chosen during the next drawing, the player wins that prize.
By playing five pops, players have a 1 in 3 chance of winning a prize. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 15.
Players can enter with different wagers, which increase their prize amounts. For example, $1 players can win up to $250, while $10 players can win up to $2,500.
Players can opt to enter their ticket into six consecutive drawings.
The South Carolina Lottery
The South Carolina Education Lottery launched in January 2002 and has since raised $8.3 billion for the South Carolina General Assembly. This year, the lottery transferred $592 million toward educational initiatives in the state, including scholarships, tuition assistance, and need-based grants. This marks the fourth year in a row that the state raised more than half a billion dollars for education.
The state also experienced $2.4 billion in ticket sales this year, $1.6 billion in prize winnings given to players, and $168 million given as commission to retailers.
South Carolinians rank ninth in per capita spending on lottery tickets, at $437.38 per year, according to Lending Tree.
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