How to Tell If a Scratch-Off Has Already Been Played or Tampered With

Most tickets you buy are perfectly fine. But once in a while you hear a story about someone selling a ticket that was already scratched and checked, or a found ticket that turns out to be a dud somebody tried to pass off. It is rare, but it is worth knowing what to look for, especially if you buy from a machine, a flea market, or anyone other than a store clerk.

The coating should be untouched

A fresh scratch-off has a solid, even coating over the play area, that gray or colored latex you scratch away. If the coating looks thin, smudged, partly rubbed off, or like it was scratched and covered back up, walk away. Some tricks involve scratching just enough to peek at the result, then hiding it again. An even, undisturbed surface is the first thing to check.

Check the back and the security area

Every ticket has fine print and a security area on the back. If the ticket is torn where the code sits, or the back looks scraped, that is a red flag. A legitimate ticket is printed clean.

The only real proof is the scan

Here is the honest truth: you cannot tell for certain whether a ticket already won or lost just by looking at it, and neither can the person selling it. The barcode and the hidden validation code are what the lottery actually reads, not the numbers you see up top. So if you have any doubt, have the ticket scanned at a retailer, or check it through the state lottery app, before you hand over a dime for it. A real winner shows up on the scanner. A played ticket shows nothing. We explain that hidden code in the number on the back of the ticket, and how to run the check yourself in checking a scratch-off online.

Buy from the source

The simplest protection is where you buy. A ticket pulled straight off the roll at a licensed retailer, or out of a store's vending machine, has not been touched. The ones worth scanning first are the tickets bought secondhand, from a stranger, or handed to you as a gift you did not watch get purchased. And if somebody is in a real hurry to sell you a ticket they swear is a winner, that hurry is the tell.

If you think a store sold you a bad ticket

Keep the ticket, keep your receipt, and call your state lottery. Every ticket has a serial number they can trace. Retailers caught tampering with tickets lose their license and worse, so the lottery takes these reports seriously. Disputes do happen, and they are not always simple, as one player found out in this Indiana case.

You do not need to be suspicious of every ticket. Buy from a real retailer, keep an eye on the coating, and when in doubt, let the scanner settle it.