Lottery payouts to winners delayed by computer glitch that began June 8

ALBANY — Problems with computer software at the New York State Lottery have delayed many payouts to winners since the night of June 8, state officials said Monday.

"All wagers have been recorded properly and all winning patron tickets will be able to be redeemed as soon as the system is fully restored," state Gaming Commission spokesman Brad Maione told Newsday. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

State Assembly Gaming Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow said payouts are expected to resume within a couple days.

"It’s a lot of money and through an abundance of caution they didn’t want to pay out too little or too much," Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) said in an interview.

All winning tickets worth less than $600 will be paid as more of the computer system is brought back online each day, the Lottery stated.

Once all those tickets are paid, winning tickets worth more than $600 will be able to be processed, the official said.

It took Lottery technicians "substantial time" to identify the computer glitch and the repair required a slow, methodical restoration of data, Maione said.

"We are diligently working to reestablish the New York Lottery prize payments system for tickets," Maione said late Monday afternoon.

The Lottery stated on its website: "There has been a delay in finalizing some results for the following games: New York Lotto, Cash4Life, and Take 5. Please hold onto your tickets until resolved."

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.