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METZ, France, Dec 5 (AFP) – France’s state-run lottery company was Friday forced to announce it would pay out a number of scratch cards with a printing error on them after purchasers who thought they had won thousands of euros threatened legal action.
The company, la Francaise des Jeux, told AFP that it, “in light of this unprecedented event, has decided to indemnify for the amount given on the ticket those players in possession of the faulty tickets whose good faith is not questioned.”
At least eight people who had bought the tickets, from a batch sold in eastern France, excitedly discovered they had “won” between EUR 2,000 and EUR 20,000 (USD 2,400 and USD 24,000) after scratching part of the card.
But when they initially tried to cash in on their good luck this week, the company refused, saying a printing error had resulted in the word “winner” accidentally appearing.
A lawyer for five of the purchasers, Gerard Michel, welcomed the company’s change of mind, saying it had “avoided legal action and also avoided the scratch games losing credibility.”
© AFP
Subject: French news