Answer

It really depends on the payout structure of the game.

Atlantic Lottery has a Scratch ‘N Win ticket removal policy that sets the guidelines for removing a game from market.

Atlantic Lottery will only remove from the market and/or discontinue the sale of a Scratch ’n Win game:

When ticket sales are not meeting the predetermined sales expectations and Atlantic Lottery is replacing the game
with a new product that is expected to be more appealing to players; or
If all top prizes have been claimed (where top prizes represent 10% or more of the total prize pool or are valued at $500,000 and above)

You can find information on our Scratch ‘N Win games and the number of top prizes remaining at https://alc.ca/content/alc/en/our-games/scratch-n-win/top-prizes-remaining.html.

15 Comments

Mary MacDonald

04/20/2012

I don't understand why tickets are recalled from some retailers while the top prizes remain unclaimed. This seems to favour Atlantic Lottery by recalling tickets so that top prizes don't have to be paid out.

Atlantic Lottery

04/25/2012

Hi Mary. Our Scratch ‘N Win ticket removal policy sets guidelines that determine when it is appropriate to remove a game from market – Atlantic Lottery will only remove from the market and/or discontinue the sale of a Scratch ’n Win game: • If all top prizes have been claimed (where top prizes represent 10% or more of the total prize pool or are valued at $500,00 and above) • When ticket sales are not meeting the predetermined sales expectations and Atlantic Lottery plans to replace the game with a new product that is expected to be more appealing to players (swapping out the ticket for one that players enjoy more) Mireille@AtlanticLottery

troy

02/05/2017

i have talked to lots of store owners amd 70-80 do not return there tickets, and i have a complaint about your ten $ crossword game the odds of winning must be wrong, i buy tons & almost never win. plus i think as u change the colors of the pks the number of top prises gos down and it seems u r showin the same winners over again as the game colors change? this is very misleading

Atlantic Lottery

02/09/2017

Hi Troy; Once games have reached their end of life, we do encourage stores to return the tickets and even help our retailers through the return process. Because returning tickets isn’t mandatory, it is possible that you could find these tickets at one of the 3,000 plus stores that sell our products. This could be for several reason, for example, the ticket is still popular with the store’s customers. The odds on our $10 Crossword Supreme are accurate. Like many of our games, all $10 Crossword Supremes are audited by a third party financial auditor so a ticket’s odds are verified before it is released for sale. Each one of our games have a predetermined amount of top prizes that does not change once the ticket has been printed and sent out to our retailers. You can see how many top prizes are available to be won on any Scratch’n Win game, by visiting our web site at (http://bit.ly/TopPrizesRemaining). Like any lottery product, winning a prize on a Scratch’n Win ticket is completely random and there is no way to predict where a winning ticket will be sold. Thanks for your questions about our Scratch’n Win tickets. - Janet @ Atlantic Lottery

Tim

09/09/2017

Just bought a set for life ticket today Sept 9 2017. I checked the lotto website and noticed that one series of tickets still had 3 top prizes remaining. The others had no remaining top prizes and hence should have been removed. Sent someone to buy me a ticket and after I scratched it I noticed that the series # was 4009. Called Alc and they verified that they should not be sold. I was told that it was my responsibility to checked the series number before I pay for the ticket. That is absolutely ridiculous. I was told that ALC could do nothing about it and to speak to the store manager. He said I could have a won a smaller prize so why was I complaining. I don't buy tickets to win a small prize. I don't buy lotto 6-49 hoping to win $2 on tag.

Atlantic Lottery

09/12/2017

Hi Tim; Sorry to hear that your recent lottery purchase was not a great experience. When all the top prizes for a Set for Life game have been claimed for a certain series of tickets, we do advise our retailers to remove that series from their tray. Sometimes, a retailer may not make the change as quickly as other retailers so we do encourage our Set for Life players to be familiar with what series is being sold. We understand your disappointment as what you bought was not the one you intended to buy but wanted to assure you that it was still possible to win on that ticket as there were several large secondary prizes left including a $20,000, a $10,000 and several $500. Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. – Janet @ Atlantic Lottery

Noel

02/15/2018

Hi, I buy Set for life once a week. this week I was offered 5 cards for the price of 4 ! I took the deal but now feel as if I was lead astray as I believe that all the top prizes are won. They are version 4019. If this is the case I think it is poor practice and unethical to encourage you to buy more when they know the top prize is gone. I would not have bought them had I known. I didn't even win $4 !!! out of the 5 cards. I was duped.

Atlantic Lottery

02/19/2018

Good morning Noel, Thank you for your inquiry. There is still 1 top prize remaining for Set for Life game series 4019. If you would like to have a look at the top prizes remaining for our other scratch 'n win games, here is the link: https://alc.ca/content/alc/en/our-games/scratch-n-win/top-prizes-remaining.html Thank you - Brianna

Phillip Banks

10/24/2018

Hello, can someone send me the link website where I can see the status of each scratch n win prize? I did not know that this is how it went! so theres a $2,000,000 prize scratch n win game out right now for $20.. if one person wins the $2million that's it? no more $2million dollar grand prize? its just all $20 bucks here and there ?

Atlantic Lottery

10/24/2018

Hi Phillip, thanks for your question. There are numerous other secondary prizes that are available to win on those bigger tickets as well. For example that $2 Million Supreme ticket sells for $20, and have the following prizes to win: $20, $25, $30, $35, $40, $50, $60, $75, $100, $125, $500, $1,000, $50,000, $200,000 & $2,000,000. You can see the remaining top prizes of our scratch'N'win tickets by clicking on this link: https://www.alc.ca/content/alc/en/our-games/scratch-n-win/top-prizes-remaining.html Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns. Regards, Mel

Matthew

04/06/2019

My wife and I buy a lot of Crossword Supreme. There are still a few local stores that are selling the older series of this game where ALL the top prizes of $100,000.00 have been won. We have asked several times if they can open the current series as we inform them that all the top prizes are gone on the ones they are selling but the flat out say "No". Are they allowed to do this?

Atlantic Lottery

04/06/2019

Good afternoon Matthew, Thank you for your inquiry. Our scratch tickets do not expire unless there is a date clearly printed on it; however, we may remove them from our retail locations if they meet specific criteria. Typically, the only game we remove from sale when all top prizes are gone is our Set for Life scratch tickets. All other scratch ticket removals are subject to our discretion. There are different factors that we take into consideration when deciding to recall instant tickets. We look at the amount of time the ticket has been out on the market, the number of prizes remaining (both high and low tier prizes), and the percentage of sell through of the series. We would not remove a particular ticket simply because the top prizes are gone. There is a disclaimer printed on the back of our tickets that state "At the time of ticket purchase, some or all top prizes may have already been claimed. Visit ALC.ca for details." You may want to look at the top prizes remaining on our website prior to purchasing a ticket, that way you will know exactly what has top prizes remaining. This information can be found here: https://alc.ca/content/alc/en/our-games/scratch-n-win/top-prizes-remaining.html Regards, James

Geno

05/28/2019

Hi So you're saying we pay top dollar for a ticket that has a 100,000 prize say, then it's won but we still have to pay top dollar to buy that same game even though the top prize is gone. wow how sick is that

Barb

01/23/2020

The retailer I stop to buy has from is where I normally buy scratch tickets however for several months now they don't carry crossword supreme, my favorite, they have everything else, this doesn't make sense. They lost a customer, I buy has elsewhere.

Atlantic Lottery

01/23/2020

Hello Barb, thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We're sorry to hear about your frustrating experience regarding your local retailer, and how they do not carry your favourite ticket, Crossword Supreme. We understand how this can be a frustrating experience; however, it is up to the discretion of each retail location to decide which of our products they would like to sell. I can only recommend sharing your concerns with your local retailer so that they are aware of the desire for this product. Thank you again for sharing your concerns with us. Have a great day! -Jordan