A player named Ward Thomas, who resides in Long Beach, California, in the United States, filed a lawsuit with the State Lottery Commission.
According to Ward, he is the rightful winner of more than $5 million in lottery prizes that have never been paid out.
The process, which began in 2017, is more complex than it appears. According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where the case is pending, the purchaser of the winning tickets was Ward’s son Benjamin, who was a minor at the time.
Ward Thomas does not deny the claims and explains that he unpretentiously asked his son to buy five scratch cards. When the boy arrived, Thomas discovered that one of the tickets was a prize.
After the happy discovery, Ward requested that the prize be withdrawn from the lottery where the tickets were purchased. However, just two months later, he received the reply that the prize would not be awarded due to the age of Benjamin, who was only 16 when he bought the scratch card.
Since then, the unconformist winner has engaged in a legal battle to have his prize released.
Ward Thomas’ allegations include that the California State Lottery Commission acted in bad faith and denied him a right. Thomas also says that the lottery his son bought tickets from has no indication that underage gambling is prohibited.
In the case file filed by Ward, that statement is explicit. “At no point did the Lottery advise that Benjamin Thomas could not serve as the author’s agent [no caso o seu pai] Obtaining tickets,” the document questions.
In defense, lottery officials say they had in mind that both Ward and his son Benjamin already knew underage people cannot be involved in lottery betting.
That’s where the lottery itself went, suing Benjamin and Ward Thomas, claiming that the young man had presented a fake driver’s license to prove he was 18 and fit to compete.
At the time of this writing, the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s decision remains unfavorable to Ward and Benjamin, who have yet to see the color of the $5 million won on scratch cards.