Consumer Protection and Security

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Consumer Protection and Security

Preventing fraud and reducing unfair practices

Consumer confidence and trust is critical for any lottery. At the California Lottery, we strive to ensure the highest level of operational integrity, honesty, and fairness. Through our consumer protection initiatives, we are able to prevent fraud and reduce unfair practices so that players may enjoy lottery games and feel confident that prizes are fairly awarded.

Educating winners

What would you do if you won the Lottery? Most players have in mind a prepared laundry list of luxury purchases and philanthropic causes they would contribute to, but very few of those lists include hiring an attorney, accountant and a financial planner.

These are just some helpful suggestions the Lottery offers new millionaires in its Winner’s Handbook. This handbook is designed to answer commonly asked questions about prize payments, taxes, public disclosure and other important topics that help prizewinners manage their winnings and learn about the available resources.

Ensuring a level playing field for our consumers

In an effort to ensure fairness for our players, the Lottery has put a limit on the 2nd Chance submissions to 500 per calendar month. Players will not be able to submit more than 500 combined submissions in a month. The policy compliments our responsible gaming efforts to help prevent problem gambling.

Protecting our Players and Retailers

A big part of this program falls under the jurisdiction of our seasoned Security and Law Enforcement Division (SLED) that investigates and prevents crimes against our retailers and players.

Investigate winner claims on tickets and other credible evidence to ensure that Lottery prizes are rightfully awarded
Investigate claims involving altered, forged, counterfeit, or stolen tickets
Investigate burglaries and employee embezzlement cases when Lottery products are stolen
Investigate player reports of stolen tickets

Conduct background checks on all prospective retailers
Reduce under-age gambling via the Minor Decoy Enforcement Program
Provide superior customer service to general public and retailer network
Work with other law enforcement agencies to uncover and solve crimes