The B.C. Lottery Corporation in British Columbia, Canada, has kept quiet about a slot machine software malfunction that allowed a woman to receive a 0,000 jackpot—100 times the maximum allowed on that particular machine. A newspaper reporter following up on an anonymous tip recently exposed the story.
BCLC spokesperson Laura Piva-Babcock confirmed the player hit the jackpot on a “Dragon Fever” slot machine in Penticton’s Lake City Casino on January 20. The progressive slot machine was supposed to pay out no more than $1,000 jackpots but instead displayed a $99,999.97 prize.
“As per standard procedure, the machine was immediately placed out of service while the matter was investigated and we notified our regulator as well as the manufacturer of the machine,” Piva-Babcock said. She stated three days after the incident, BCLC examined 189 similar government slot machines at B.C. casinos and found 152 also were affected by the software malfunction. The faulty hardware has been replaced, she said.
“We determined that a progressive controller was the issue, the hardware and software that controls communications amongst linked slot machines. It takes a specific set of circumstances in order for that fault to occur so it’s very rare,” Piva-Babcock said.
BCLC paid the woman the displayed winnings and will recover the money from Konami, the slot machine manufacturer, Piva-Babcock said.
