When your lottery ticket says see retailer, it can mean a bunch of different things.
Here I explain what they are and what you can do about it.
Two Main Types Of ‘See Retailer’ Message
This is the first thing to understand – there are 2 main kinds of these messages.
Firstly there is the simpler ‘please see retailer’ message. This is different to the ‘cannot process’ message.
Both are covered in detail below.
1. ‘Please See Lottery Retailer’
When your lottery ticket says see retailer, but it does NOT mention anything about ‘cannot process’, here’s what it can mean:-
- There is a network/system problem – so just try again later.
- You scanned it at a ticket vending machine and you have won more than $100 (the vending machines have a lower maximum payout limit).
- You may have won more than $600 but less than $5,000 – the retailer can handle this (more and you have to claim from the lottery office).
So what does it mean when your lottery ticket says see retailer? Most likely that you have won something.
Which is a good problem to have. 🙂
And why do the scanners just say ‘see retailer’ when you have won? Because it’s safer for you than the machine screaming “WINNER, please now steal my ticket…”. 😉
Seriously, that is the reason. Self-scan machines used to announce a winner, but there were some cases of people stealing tickets from winners identified in this way. So bear in mind if your lottery ticket says see retailer this is actually the lottery company looking out for you!
2. My Lottery Ticket Says Cannot Process See Retailer
So what does it mean when a lottery ticket says cannot process see retailer? This is a whole different kettle of fish.
It happens quite often with lottery apps. But these apps are basically doing exactly the same thing as the self-scan machines in stores anyway.
So however you are scanning the ticket it can mean:-
- it didn’t scan correctly – make sure you ticket is nice and flat, and scan again
- the lottery network is temporarily down or overloaded – just try again later on
- your ticket is old and no longer valid (i.e. expired) 🙁 – nothing you can do here, other than remember to check your tickets earlier in future
- the ticket is damaged and not scannable – if you think you’ve won, put in a claim form
- it’s possible, though rare, for a misprint or faulty ticket – all you can do here is contact the lottery company and hope they honor any winnings it shows
Scratch Off Says Cannot Process Contact Lottery or ‘Sorry please call 1-800-lottery’ or just ‘See Lottery’
In addition to those reasons above, scratchers also have an extra special case – the ticket roll was not activated.
What Does It Mean When a Lottery Ticket Is Not Active?
As a security measure, each roll of tickets is ‘activated’ before going on sale. This is something the retailer does using their lottery terminal.
It’s done to make it difficult for thieves to steal tickets. If they break in and steal rolls of tickets that have not been activated yet, the tickets cannot be claimed. And obviously the thieves don’t know the access codes/passwords to be able to activate the tickets.
Typically these ‘unactivated’ tickets will just show that ‘cannot process contact lottery’ message. But you might also see a more specific message where the lottery ticket says not active. Which is pretty clear!
So when a lottery ticket says it’s not active it means that the ticket roll has not been activated by the retailer before selling it.
So what does this mean for your ticket?
If you bought the ticket cheap from a dodgy ‘friend of a friend’ down a dark back alley (or the person who gave it to you might have!)… well, lesson learnt! 🙂
But if you bought the ticket as normal from an authorized retailer, then I’d recommend you call the lottery company first. They can sometimes sort this out on the spot by calling the retailer, and getting them to activate the roll. Then you can just claim as normal.
Alternatively just complete a claim form at the lottery office (or post in a form) and they will sort it out later.
P.S. Did you get my scratchers tips yet? It’s free and includes lots of great tips on improving your chances of winning.
Related Questions
Your ticket will say invalid if the ticket has expired (yes, lottery tickets do expire).
Scratch off tickets do have an expiry date. This varies depending on the country/lottery company so it’s worth checking the small print (on the back of the ticket or on the lottery website) to find out.
But if your ticket has expired there is nothing you can do about it. That prize can no longer be claimed. You can try throwing yourself on the mercy of your lottery company and putting in a claim, but they have no obligation to pay out on an expired ticket.
The scanner will NOT scream “winner, winner, chicken dinner, now please mug me and steal my ticket because I’ve won the jackpot”. 😉
Instead, when you win the lottery and scan your ticket in the machine it will be nice and subtle, and tell you to claim at the lottery office.
That’s for your own security. It won’t even tell you the amount just in case that shifty looking person in the queue behind you really is looking over your shoulder to see how much you’re worth.
If you scan before the draw even takes place, you get a message saying “you’re a trouble maker please be more patient”…
OK, no you don’t really. 😉
You’ll actually get a message more like ‘results not in’. Read more about this in why does my lottery ticket say results not in?
When a scratcher says ‘file claim form’ or ‘file claim with lottery’ it may mean you’ve won over $600. Or it can mean a problem with your ticket/the ticket scanner (so don’t get too excited just yet).
The best thing to do here is to manually check the ticket yourself (i.e. play the game!) to find out if you’ve actually won anything. Then file a claim form if you have won. If you still can’t tell, file a claim with the lottery anyway just in case.
Over To You
If you have any questions about scanning tickets or ‘see retailer’ messages just add a comment below.
Also do come back and tell us what happens with your ticket – we’d all love to know if you managed to sort it out.
So I played Powerball, I tried to scan the ticket and it says unable to verify ticket information.
I bought a $10 Extreme Crossword in Canton, MD yesterday. Drove home to PA and then scratched it off when I got home yesterday afternoon. When I scanned it on the app on my phone it said “please see lottery retailer.” I scanned it 2 more times to make sure, and it kept saying “please see lottery retailer.” Scanned it one final time 10 minutes later and then it said “not a winner?” Every time I scan it now it says “not a winner.” Do you think it was a system error?
Possibly. Could have been a non-activated ticket roll that then got activated – but that feels like a stretch in such a short space of time?
Is it definitely not a winner when you scratch and play/check it?
Hi, I recently bought a $10 ticket in Massachusetts and after scratching it I won $15, but when I scanned at the store it says ‘prize unavailable please visit a lotto center’. The tickets are brand new they just came out a few weeks ago so what would this mean?
It sounds like the ticket roll was not activated. Take it back to the store where you got it and get them to activate the roll.
I bought some 50X Cash Word scratchers. From 10 tickets 1 came up saying ‘previously paid’ – what does that mean?
It suggests that the ticket was already claimed. Was the barcode already scratched/damaged when you bought it? Is it a winning ticket?
I bought the ticket at the 7/11 on Fair and 37.
You didn’t answer my questions so I can’t really help. Contact the lottery company and ask them to check into it.
After scanning my ticket why does my ticket say congratulations you’re a winner but doesn’t show how much I won, like my other tickets that show winnings. Also it says go to retailer, why?
Mine just did the same thing! What did it mean for you?
I recently checked my tickets in a scanner and it said “make claim centrally” on two tickets? What does this mean? The retailer had not seen that before and did not know.
The meaning of ‘make claim centrally’ (or MCC) is that the tickets have previously been validated (i.e. a retailer has already scanned these tickets to receive credit for paying the prize out). It might just be that retailer got confused and validated them multiple times. You’ll need to contact the lottery company now to get paid out on these.
Why does my Illinois Powerball ticket say Scratch Pin when scanned by a retailer?
Are they new to the job by any chance..?
I’m not sure why they are manually checking rather than just scanning the ticket – was it damaged or unreadable in some way?
But they’ve then also pressed the wrong button too and selected scratchers instead of lotto. Which is why the terminal is asking for the ‘scratch pin’ (which is a hidden – i.e. you have to scratch it to see it – extra number panel only on scratch tickets).
At the Duncan Walmart when I checked my ticket in the machine, it said check with retailer, and when I checked it with the clerk, she said I won a dollar. I wonder why the machine couldn’t tell me that, was I scammed out of my winnings?
Probably not. But did you not check the ticket manually yourself before handing it over..?
Use the scanners as a double check. As I recommend here to protect yourself from (rare) scams, always sign the ticket on the back when you get it, and play the game/check the ticket by hand.
What does it mean when the scanner says winner number 2?
Sounds like a $2 winner. But if you manually check the ticket does that sound right?
Yeah I don’t know. My brother in law says he thinks the clerk scammed him. He said he saw it say winner number 2. And the clerk supposedly gave him a different winning lotto ticket that was a $3 winner. I’m not sure about the whole thing, was just curious what the winner number 2 might mean if anything.
To be honest it sounds more likely that the scanner actually just said ‘Winner $3’. 🙂 (2 and 3 look pretty similar on those small screens).
I’ve never heard of a scanner saying literally “winner number 2”. Could this be lost in translation? Does he mean it literally said the word ‘number’ or that it said ‘winner’ and the number ‘2’? Or possibly even the ‘#’ symbol which some people read as ‘number’ (also called ‘hash’ or ‘pound’).
I purchased two $10 tickets at a convenience store. They both say can not process see retailer, what do I do? Do I lose my money?
What did the retailer say..?
Did you try any of the suggestions I provided above?:-
https://www.lottery-guy.com/lgblog/ticket-says-see-retailer/#cannot-process
Could an e22 code mean the ticket expired?
I don’t think so, it’s a ‘machine error code’. The ticket may well have expired, but if it was trying to tell you that then you would get a more user friendly message (saying ‘see retailer’ for example). Try a different store/scanner.
I have two tickets when I scan under my Pennsylvania lottery app, it says to, Take Ticket To Lottery Retailer. I’ve than taken my tickets to a 7-Eleven, who is a PA lottery retailer to scan my two tickets there. That said ‘Take Ticket to Clerk’. I then took it to the clerk. He scanned the two tickets, and it came up as, ‘Function Temporarily Not Allowed with code (E22)’. What does this mean?
I believe it means that results checking is temporarily unavailable. So try again later. Let us know if it works?
When I scanned my Powerball draw ticket, it said it ‘cannot process see retailer’. Could it be a winner?
It could. ‘Cannot process’ means it couldn’t check the ticket to find out if it was a winner or loser. So it could be either.
Just check the numbers against the official result. 🙂
Just scanned my ticket with the app. Message says: Game not available. Please see lottery. The game was Powerball draw date 5 Nov. What does that mean? Do we have to call the lottery office?
Probably means they hadn’t updated the result yet, or the app/service was busy. Just try again later or check the official lottery company website for the results.
I went to get a scratchy last night at a local 7-Eleven. I scratched off the barcode and put it underneath the scanner and it said see retailer and call this 800 number. I pulled the ticket out and I called the cashier. I said you need to call the 800 number. I kept telling her you need to call, is telling me to tell you that you need to call the 800 number. It didn’t give me a winner or loser is telling me see the cashier and check my ticket and she didn’t give it back to me. So I’m going to report her to the lotto district tomorrow. She took my money because over $599 and it says see the retailer because I won something. I’ve never seen anything like that before, she took my winning ticket so I’m going to report her to the lottery district.
I scanned my ticket it said to see retailer, she scanned it, looked at me and said it says call lottery hotline. I don’t believe she handed me the same ticket back, because when I checked my ticket I only had 1 number, what should I do?
Go to the lottery office and tell them what happened. They will investigate & get video footage of the day you went to that store where you scanned it.
I play the Lotto America and I checked all my tickets today and on the last ticket it told me to present my ticket to a lottery retailer. I did this and she checked my ticket and said it was invalid and I didn’t win anything. I bought the tickets last week. What would you recommend I should do.
Did you ask why the ticket was invalid? Was it an old ticket? Do you still have the ticket?
But basically: if in doubt, just call the lottery and explain what happened. 🙂
I scanned a ticket today it said see clerk. He scanned it and he said I won a free ticket. Is that possible?
Can you find out who the retailer is from the code on the ticket?
No, but the lottery company can. They have a record of where each ticket was bought.
Really? There is a code on the tickets that tell what retailer it is, yet we can’t look that up. Why?
I had a small log book and had a good bunch of unchecked tickets in it. Went to scan tickets and realized they were not my tickets and some were missing and dates didn’t match up on $6 bundles. Someone had nailed mine and put their garbage tickets in instead.
I think you may have misunderstood me. Nothing on the ticket tells anyone where it was sold – but each ticket has a unique code to identify that specific ticket. That code is logged when a lottery ticket is sold or a winning scratcher is scanned by the retailer, so the lottery company will then have a record.
Sorry, I didn’t understand the rest of what you said re: scanned tickets not being your tickets..?
Thank you. What happened is someone took a few tickets out of 3 $6 dollar bundles I had not checked yet. I have the remaining tickets. Is there any way to track where the missing ones were cashed in. Obviously they were stolen and I suspect a phone scan was used.
No, there’s no way to track them. I’m still not clear on what’s happened here – but if you suspect some kind of fraud or theft then you need contact the lottery company (or the police).
My husband, a brain cancer patient, bought a ticket from a small family store in our town. He scanned it at the same store. The scanner said to see the retailer. The retailer scanned it, and told him it was not a winner. Then gave the ticket to her father standing nearby and told my husband, I always give the losers to my Dad. I believe it must have been a winner.
OMG! I have bought so many tickets lately and wondered why I’ve only won $10. Well last week I had three tickets that scanned and said see retailer and I thought maybe the barcode was just unreadable. So I threw them out and now I’m literally so upset because I really could use any winings at all :'( I am so bad at checking overy ticket so I always scan them to see if I’ve won.
I won $30 on a ticket I got and when I try to cash it the machine said ‘winning ticket visit lottery’ to submit a prize claim form.
I scanned my hit 5 ticket and the response says see clerk then says one free ticket then says winner what does this mean?
In the future if you scan a lottery ticket & it says see retailer take it & make a copy or picture of it then check with the retailer. The News said that retailers were saying not a winner & keeping tickets for themselves. Some went to jail when caught. Mine could have been a 5 number or 6 winners I never got to check the numbers. Lesson learned.
I bought a $10 Extreme Crossword scratcher. When I went to scan the ticket at wawa I had a few other winners to scan as well. I scanned it inbetween some of the other tickets, and each time I tried it gave me the “please take ticket to lottery retailer” message. Then I scanned the rest of the winners I had and all of them scanned fine. Then I tried the Crossword again and it still gave me the same message. Is that like a definite that it’s a winner?
When did you buy this ticket? Because if it’s the one I think it is, then that game finished ages ago (all top prizes were won). The final date to claim smaller prizes was 17 November last year.
I’m not sure when I had bought it, but if it was finished would I still have been able to claim other winners on the same crossword? Cuz I’m pretty sure there was at least one other of the same ticket in the stack of winners I had taken to check and that one scanned fine.
Any tickets of the same type would give the same message if expired.
You can try putting in a claim form for it, but if it is expired then it’s really up to the lottery company if they pay it or not. Expect not and consider it a bonus if they do. 🙂
I recommend double checking and claiming all tickets as soon as you can after playing them. A lot of winnings go unclaimed from lost or expired tickets.
The machine said please see retailer for assistance service required? Why if the machine was operated normally. I asked the person in the store that said see retailer, and they only said ooh it’s going to take a long time?
To be honest it just sounds like they were being lazy and couldn’t be bothered to help you.
Personally I don’t put up with bad service like this. You can give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe ask if it would be better if you came back in 10 minutes? Or just don’t buy there again, go to a store where you get good service. 🙂
I purchased a $10 Lucky 7’s ticket on Monday at Meijer gas station at Belleville and Tyler Rd. I scanned the ticket and it said see the retailer. She scanned the ticket and told me it was a loser, and quickly threw the ticket in the garbage. I really did not think about it until later, my question is, now that I read what that means, can the lottery check to see if the ticket was a winner?
Yes they can. The scan will be recorded by their central computer so give them a call, provide all the details and ask them to look into it.
Let us know what happens?
My wife and I stopped in a Circle K to get some tickets and cash in some winners. We always check for winners. They were all small prizes. I got my tickets, had no winners. Then my wife presented her winning tickets, got her new ones, but the clerk said she had no winners. We went back to the car, my wife said she knew she had winners. I said go back inside and get your money. The clerk had thrown all her winners in the garbage can. I told her to get them out and give my wife her money. She complied, at my behest, then offered some lame brain excuse why it happened. Her plan was to retrieve them and claim the money. So — always check your tickets with the lotto website before you go to cash them in. After all the website has the final say about what hit.
My ticket said take to a retailer, what did that mean? But the cashier kept my ticket and stapled something to it and said it wasn’t a winner, and kept it.
Contact the lottery company and ask them to look into it. Maybe it was a winner, maybe it was a ticket that hadn’t been activated.
In these situations it’s always wise to manually check the ticket to see if you think it’s a winner and how much you think it has won. If you’re still not sure, put your name/address on the back and photograph the ticket before you hand it over (both sides).
Wow, when I scanned my ticket a year ago it said ‘congratulations see retailer’. I gave my ticket to the cashier he said it expired. I didn’t have my name on it back then, didn’t think about it. That Cashier smiled and is no longer at that 7-11. I still wonder today what did that mean? Did he say that & kept the ticket..?
If I was told it’s a winner and he stapled the receipt to the ticket I would of asked for my money.
Always ask for your ticket back. They have no right to keep any ticket even if it is a winner.
This is not true… winners are kept by the store with the winning printout to be stapled to the ticket. There will be a second printout saying ‘players copy’ to give to the winner but they do not get the winning ticket back. This is with both lottery and with scratch off tickets.
I bought a $1 Year of the Tiger scratch ticket. My winning number is 5, in my match numbers there are 5 down below. Each number says $1 winner. It looks like a $5 winner. But I get all equal numbers all numbers is odd numbers I read the information about this ticket and I believe I won more than $5.
Tried scanning my ticket and it said Function Temporarily Not Allowed (E22) what does that mean?
I’m fairly sure this is a standard error code (hence the E22) that means the results checking service has been temporarily turned off, probably for maintenance or software updates. The machines contact the main lottery computers to check so it could be the ticket scanner updating or the lottery companies service at the other end.
It should just work again if you try it later.
When clerk scanned a Cash 5 EZ match ticket for me, he said it read ‘already scanned by other retailer’. I had not taken it anywhere else. Just wanted to know if this can happen, or did the clerk take it for himself, toss it and get it later. Just wondering.
Sounds pretty suspicious – I recommend reporting this.
Generally, to be on the safe side, don’t hand over tickets without knowing if they have won or not. Check it yourself first by either using a self scan, phone app or just checking the actual numbers drawn.
Mine just says “see lottery”. But I can not see anywhere on this ticket that it is a winner. I’m super confused. In WA state.
Same happened to me, what did you do about this?
Same thing just happened to me and I don’t know what to do?
I just scanned my Washington scratch and it says “see lottery” I guess I see lottery? Anyone have an answer yet.
It can mean the ticket has won $600+. But if it doesn’t look like a winner then it’s probably that the ticket roll was not activated by the retailer (more here: what does see lottery mean).
My ticket says can’t process see lottery retailer what does that mean?
Yes, I scanned my ticket and it says cannot process see retailer…
My tiket says call a 1800 number.
What does it mean when it says cannot pay yet?
It says contact the lottery at 803 number what does that mean?
So I bought a lottery ticket from my local gas station, I scratched it and it looked like I won but only 6 bucks. So I went to scan it and it says ‘please call’ and it gives me the lottery’s number. IDK what’s going on, I have read that means the roll is not activated but I havetaken it back to the store and they said no it was activated so IDK what is going on.
Best thing is to just call the lottery company and find out. 🙂
Let us know what they say? We’d all be interested to know (especially if it’s really good news!)
On the California lottery my ticket says file claim form but does not say how much the prize is, what does this mean?
The message ‘file claim form‘ may mean you’ve won over $600. Or it may mean a problem with your ticket/the ticket scanner (don’t get too excited yet).
So I’d suggest you actually check the numbers yourself and find out if you’ve actually won anything. Then file a claim form if you have.
What does it mean when the scanned ticket says “contact player support”.
Same answer really. Or it could be an expired ticket (was it a scratcher? you didn’t give me much information to go on!)
I bought a lottery ticket back in 2010, threw it in a drawer and later took to check it and the scanner said ‘Congratulations See Retailer’ at 7/11. I gave him the ticket and he said it’s expired. Boy I was bummed. Never do that again. I never knew how much I won?
Today I keep them close & check them often.
My Super Lotto Plus said ‘see a retailer’ and I did. He just gave me back the ticket.
But what did they say? Did you not ask why?
Bottom line though is – is it a winning ticket or not. If it is, put in a claim form. If it isn’t, then it doesn’t really matter. 🙂
If you’re still not sure, just take it to the lottery office or put in a claim form anyway. Worst that can happen is they tell you it isn’t a winner.
I want to know if you can please allow me to see my old friend’s tickets from the past month or so. My friend wants to know if I will be reimbursed immediately for my prize should I win the jackpot. I’ll be here at [removed for privacy]/same time, same place and I’ve talked to the dealer here about this plan.
Sounds like you meant to contact the lottery company..?
My ticket said see retailer there is an issue. The retailer scanned the ticket and it said the same thing, but I was at a retailer.
I scanned my tickets, 2 said not a winner the other 1 said see retailer. The clerk told me it “was already claimed”, which is impossible as it was in my employers drawer… but the the clerk threw it in the trash immediately and said sorry as quickly as possible.
My lottery ticket said “cannot be processed, call 1-800-lottery”? Does anyone know what that means?
I talk about ‘cannot be processed’ here.
Did you ever find out what this means? I’m experiencing the same thing…
I scanned a Super Lotto Plus ticket 5/29/21. Scanned with cell phone it says cannot process this ticket. Take to retailer.
Online directs me to contact lottery. 510-***-****. Please call to sort out.
Thank you.
Try scanning it again later. But also just check the numbers to see if it’s a winner. 🙂
Hi, I scanned my Mega Millions ticket and got a message saying “Retailer cannot pay out yet” then the vending machine froze and restarted itself.
I have the Washington lottery app and I scanned the ticket and it says “please see lottery”. I also entered it manually and got the same message but I have no idea what that means…
I scanned my Super Lotto ticket on my lotto phone app and it said this ticket cannot be processed contact 1-800-lottery what does that mean?
This happens quite often (with apps and sometimes with the self-scan machines) – I talk more about what see retailer means here.
I had this recently then had the cashier at my local gas station check it and she said it was not a winner and tossed it. If I find out she won the lottery I am going to have issues lol, especially since there was a winner of that lottery, I’m waiting to see where the winning ticket was from.
A clerk at the racetrack here in Tampa just did the same thing. Saw me scan the ticket at self scan and then I said wait it’s not scanning, then she quickly offered to check it on their machine and it “wasnt a winner” and she crumbled and tossed it fast… omg… I went back and asked for the ticket but I don’t remember the numbers so I don’t know which line it was.
They should always give the ticket back to you?
I scanned my ticket it said ‘Congratulations see retailer’, the 7/11 guy put it in the machine and told me it’s expired.
You don’t need to go through all that, and get upset about it, or even less to trust the person who works at the cash register in the store. Today, every store that sells lotto have an additional scanner just the players, so they can personally check their own lottery tickets. Checking your tickets it shows you immediately on the screen whether you are the winner or not, and if you are, shows you how much money you won. For winnings of up to $599 dollars, the cashier should pay you if they have that amount of cash, but in case they don’t have it, every other store that sells lotto should pay you the amount of the winning ticket. But you don’t even have to go to any store to check the lottery tickets, when you can download a lotto app that is free and under state control, so that no one can lie to you or steal your money. Good luck to you in the future playing lottery!
Hello. I found an unscratched beat up dirty $30 ticket today. I scratched and scanned on home app. Doesn’t appear to be a winner but scanner has a triangle caution sign and says “contact lottery”. What could that possibly mean? Thank you.
Why does my ticket say Ticket on hold see lottery retailer?
My girlfriend scanned a Mega Millions ticket today and it said see cashier. The cashier handed her $2 for the ticket. Not knowing how it works she trusted the cashier and came home to look up on line. Now she feels that cashier had kept a winning ticket. What does she do?
Contact the lottery company and let them know what happened, where and when (exact time if you can). Let them investigate.
So why does it say sign ticket and see lottery office?
I purchased a scratch off at a local store and it said see clerk. What does that mean? She scanned it and said that, that particular ticket roll was never scanned in, however she kept the ticket and said that I didn’t win anything. I feel that there’s more to it.
I bought a $10 scratch off and it’s a winner, but when I scan it the scanner says ‘see retailer’. I took it and he told me the ticket expired and gave me $10 back. So does that mean I don’t get the winnings, I don’t think that’s fair I won $440. Please help me!
When did you buy the ticket – did this all happen on the same day at the same retailer? Or was this an old ticket that you bought some time ago?
The lottery company do withdraw older games, and retailers are required to remove those tickets from sale when that happens. It’s possible this retailer did mistakenly sell you a ticket that had been withdrawn. So they gave you a refund.
It’s a shame you didn’t keep the ticket. But do try taking your case to the lottery company. Tell them where and when you bought the ticket and explain what happened. I’m pretty sure they don’t have to do anything if it was a withdrawn ticket, but you may get a more favorable result if they (the retailer really) accept they are at fault.
Is it possible for a store clerk to check scratch tickets to find the winning ones. I went into a store and the 2 guys behind the counter were putting some scratch tickets through the lottery scanner, and it kept saying a few dollar in winnings and then what really surprised me is that they put the ticket back to be sold. So they already know those tickets are not winners.
It’s only possible if they remove part of the hidden barcode (it’s called ‘pinning’ and I warn about it here). Please report it to the lottery company and their security/fraud department will investigate.
Can a retailer sell me scratchoff out of sequence. For instance sell me 000 and 003.
Only accept tickets directly off the roll. If they are already detached or appear from under the counter don’t accept them. They may be fine (e.g. a previous customer changed their mind) but why risk it.
Hi, if the ticket once scanned says take ticket to lottery retailer, does it mean that the ticket has not yet expired?
I tried to claim a $1000 winner, they said the claim can’t be processed claim at lottery. What does it mean? Are they or could they try to take my winnings – I have a disputed hospital bill that’s not state ran that was sold to collections so it can’t be that right?
No, it can’t be that – until you claim they don’t know who bought the ticket.
Here’s what cannot process claim at lottery is most likely to mean.
It was at an authorized dealer that cashes up to $5000 so I had to fill out the form there and everything (sign the back, use social and give ID) but all they said was claim at lottos office. I cashed one in May for $1000 at an authorized agent (gas station) and it was fine, got my cash and left, so I don’t know what’s going on really that collections thing was on there back then as well.
OK – so is it a case of “can’t” or “won’t” process it. You didn’t ask why?
I guess just try elsewhere or claim at the lotto office.
Hi, my quick draw ticket says unable to process this ticket please see a retailer. Please let me know thank you. I’m thinking that this ticket was cash in.
What did the retailer say?
Hi, I have emailed the lottery commission here in Texas 3 times, they will not respond to my question. I found some old scratch off tickets in an old purse I used to carry. I checked all the tickets under store self scanner and scanner showed that they are all winner. But the retailer said he can’t pay out because his scanner won’t let him. What can I do, thay are all big winners?
First, check your spam folder to see if the lottery company have replied.
Then, put in a claim form for the tickets. Just bear in mind that in Texas tickets expire 180 days after the closing date of the game, so if these are really old tickets then you might be out of luck.
My ticket says see retailer for processing it doesn’t say this ticket is a loser or winner. Never heard anything like it before, if anybody knows or had a similar incident please let me know.
NJ lottery scratch off “Rejected – Invalid book Status” call hotline. What does this mean?
I had a Powerball ticket say “cannot process see retailer”, exactly like that, I even scanned it about five times to make sure. It kept saying the same thing. Then the next day I scanned it again and it says not a winner. What’s that about.
Sounds like there was a problem with the self-scan machine – they need to talk to the main lottery computers to check your ticket, so if it couldn’t connect temporarily then you’d get a ‘cannot process’ message.
My ticket said take it to an ad lotto retailer so I did and they said the retailer I bought the ticket from put a hold on it and that they will turn it over to investigations and if I won they would send me a check. What the heck I have never heard of this. Why would they put a hold on it?
Bit strange but could be from a roll of stolen tickets – did you buy the ticket from a retailer or were you given it by someone else? Or it could be ‘not activated’ rather than ‘put on hold’ as they said (sometimes happens if the retailer forgets to activate the roll). Or just an error.
So did they keep the ticket? Or give it back to you? If you have the ticket I’d just put in a claim yourself.
It was the AZ lotto retail office and I filled out the claim there and they kept the ticket. They said if I won any money they would mail it to me. I always buy my tickets from retailers like Circle K or the machine. I’m really stumped.
Ah, good, that’s OK then. Just wait and see I guess 🙂
Let us know how it turns out (good news hopefully)?
I bought a $10 scratcher and when I scanned it… it says sorry ‘call 1-800-lottery’. What does that mean?
It probably means the ticket roll was not activated – see here.
I took in several tickets to be cashed in and checked. I had 4 winning tickets I was sure of. When I scanned the tickets 3 of my tickets said winner. The 4th kept saying ‘see retailer’ so I took it up and she wouldn’t even scan them because she didn’t have money. So we went down the road to another store. I handed my tickets over and said I know 4 are winners but it said ‘see retailer’ so not sure how much. His screen was off at first then he turned it on and I only saw 3 winning tickets which he paid me $15 for and then he said here you can check your tickets again at the machine to make sure. I did it right I thought that was odd but I did it he gave me back several tickets all that I had given him except the one that said ‘see retailer’. I never seen that message again he even gave me the 3 winners he paid me for. I am sure now he ripped me off and kept my big winner. What can I do about it, am I just screwed?
You’re suggesting he kept your ‘big winner’ – how much was the win on the 4th ticket?
I won on a scratcher what I think is 1,000 but when they scan it on the machine at the retailer it only prints a winner claim form but will not say the amount I actually won, why?
I have three tickets which, when I scanned them, said: “see retailer”. When I took them to the retailer, they didn’t tell me anything. Were they supposed to tell me more?
Did you buy the tickets from them?
No, I think they were bought from another retailer.
Take them back to the retailer they were bought from.
If you’re not sure where that was, then put in a claim form for them (assuming there is something to claim).
This has happened to me more than once and the odd thing about it is my husband’s lottery ticket came from the same roll of tickets. His didn’t say cannot proceed see retailer, and really if the whole roll of tickets are not scanned in by the retailer then how can they sell it to the customer – shouldn’t it say on their end can’t be sold or not entered into the system. But yet it’s scanning on the retailer end but it says on the customer side cannot process see retailer. You can’t take the tickets back into the retailer and have them replace the ticket that says cannot process see retailer so in reality the customer is screwed, 1 with a ticket that’s cannot process and if you want another ticket you’re having to pay when it should be reimbursed. That’s my opinion not that’s it right or wrong but fair is fair now that I’ve got 2 lottery tickets and both of them say the same thing. Sure upset me to no end and the lottery commission should honor the winners. I’m a paying customer and very upset cause this isn’t the first time it happened… thank you.
I played a scratcher at a supermarket. I played a $5 Bingo and won $125. I went to claim it, and it says it’s not a winner. Should I put a claim in?
Does it say not a winner or see retailer..? If it really says not a winner, then it most likely isn’t.
Double check the ticket again to be sure. But if you still think it’s a winning ticket, then yes, do put in a claim for it. Hopefully it’s good news 🙂
I play scratchers at the gas station with the seven eleven store. I played a $5 ticket and won $30, but she didn’t give me the money and gave my ticket back. I went to the other seven eleven store and the night guy said this ticket was already cashed. I want to know where my money is, please help me I am sure I’ve been cheated. It’s not right, I have the ticket.
My ticket says call 1-800 LOTTERY – what does that mean?
Mine said the same thing tonight. Did you ever get your answer for this question?
My ticket said take ticket to PA lottery retailer.
When using “Check A Ticket” and the message reads “Sorry this ticket cannot be processed. Please visit a lottery retailer.” it means the ticket has already been claimed.
If my ticket says ‘sign winning ticket 1 free play’ what does mean?
It means you’ve won a free ticket.
So better than nothing – and who knows what that one will win… 🙂
I have a scratch-off that says file a claim and the nothing amount appears and there’s no winning combination and the rest of ticket says no winner. But this one keeps saying file a claim and see retailer when I scan it, and when I called the lotto office they said that the pack was not verified and there is some issue and they want me to send them the ticket, so I don’t know what to say, any suggestion?
I explain more about this scratch off says see retailer case here. So it’s worth reading that just to understand why it’s happening.
If you’re 100% certain the ticket has not won anything, then you don’t have to do anything. If you’re not sure though, then file a claim for it and see what happens.
I bought a $25 crossword puzzle at a Circle K. I had him scan it on the spot to see if I won and the scan said ‘unable to cash’ so I took it to Safeway market and scanned it again and it said the same thing. The manager told me to take it back to where I bought it. I went back to Circle K, they could not fix the problem and gave me a refund – was the pack not activated or did I get cheated.
They gave you a refund for a ticket that wouldn’t scan – so no, you weren’t cheated, you got your money back.
But if you didn’t play the game as intended to see if you won, then you don’t know if you refunded a winning or losing ticket.
Always play the game (it’s half the fun!) and check it yourself first. Never blindly hand over what could be worth millions to anyone else 🙂
I purchased an instant ticket. One of my numbers was 53. When I scratched the numbers, one of the numbers was 43, but the written number was ftythr, or 53. It did not say that I had won, but shouldn’t that technically mean I did win? The payout would be very large! Please let me know or guide me to who I should contact. Thank you.
Sorry but I don’t think you’ve won – ‘fty’ is also the same letters for Forty. 🙂 So fifty is probably ffy.
But do scan the ticket anyway just to double check it.