An Audit Report on Selected Controls Over Instant Tickets at the Texas Lottery Commission
August 2004
Report Number 04-046
Overall Conclusion
Although we did not identify any instances of misuse, we did identify multiple internal weaknesses in controls over instant tickets at the Texas Lottery Commission (Lottery) that require immediate attention and correction. These weaknesses over instant ticket reconstructions (which provide information about tickets, such as the prize value) and returned tickets negatively affect the Lottery's ability to prevent and detect misuse of these tickets. The weaknesses create a risk that someone within the Lottery or the contracted lottery operator could potentially misuse the information or the instant tickets. It is important to note that these weaknesses are unlikely to be exploited by the general public or others who are outside of lottery operations.
In fiscal year 2003, the Lottery issued 961 million tickets to retailers. While a relatively small number of tickets were reconstructed and returned, inadequately safeguarding these tickets could affect players' perceptions regarding the integrity of instant ticket games.
The Lottery has adequate controls over the tickets used by its Marketing and Security Divisions; however, we noted opportunities for improvement.
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