After some players were incorrectly led to believe they had won large rewards, the Hoosier Lottery withdrew tickets for its recently released Space Invaders Cash Invasion scratch-off game.
Mike Fields, an Indiana forklift operator who believed he had won $100,000 only to have the lottery pull the rug out from under him, was one of them. Fields informed local FOX affiliate WXIN that he was advised that his reward was just $20 owing to a printing issue when he submitted his ticket to Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis.

Players can win any prize mentioned below Space Invaders Cash Invasion, which debuted on June 2 and features a rocket ship emblem.

According to lottery officials, "a technical error" caused the symbols on the ticket to not correspond with the game's official validation records.

“They never told us, ‘No.’ They just said that we wouldn’t be paid today, and no other information really, except that we would be informed by mail within 30 days,” Fields told WXIN.

No Luck

He wasn't the only one whose enormous victory was reduced to loose change—or, in certain situations, nothing at all—by the mistake. Glendon Jones of Richmond, Indiana, was given the impression that he had won a reward of $2,500. He drove 80 miles to Indianapolis to claim his ticket, only to be informed it was useless.

"I get here, and they say it’s a mess-up, a misprint, and that I’m pretty much out of luck on it,” Jones told WXIN.

Both men stated that they were having difficulty obtaining a direct response from lottery authorities. Although it is still unknown how many athletes are affected by the error, a statement posted on the Hoosier Lottery website stated that there are more than two.

Players that have been affected by the lottery are being asked to file protest forms and include documentation of their ticket purchases.

‘Slap in the Face’

“The $5 Space Invaders Cash Invasion Scratch-off launched with a technical issue. We halted the sales of the ticket to ensure the game experience upholds the integrity we strive to provide,” lottery officials said in the statement.

“All information must be thoroughly completed for review to occur, including mailing the purchased ticket with the completed form no later than November 30, 2026.

"A huge slap in the face to us and their public they depend on to purchase tickets," one concerned player wrote on Reddit in describing the catastrophe. They encouraged the lottery to "stand behind your players" and "have some integrity."