DC Lottery outlines refunds and free-play offers after draw error locked out repeat-number tickets

DC Lottery is moving into cleanup mode after a programming mistake disrupted its daily numbers games and left some tickets with no real chance to win.

The issue affected DC 3, DC 4, and DC 5 drawings between March 31, 2026 and April 21, 2026. During that stretch, the draw system failed to generate results with repeating digits. That meant any ticket built around repeated numbers, like 11, 121, or similar combinations depending on the game, was effectively shut out.

Why this error mattered

This was not a minor technical glitch. It changed the actual range of possible winning outcomes.

In Pick 3, about 28% of all possible combinations include a repeated digit. In Pick 4, that climbs to nearly 50%. In Pick 5, roughly 70% of combinations contain at least one repeated digit.

For players who bought those number patterns, the problem was simple: their tickets could not win because those outcomes were never being drawn.

What DC Lottery says happened

Lottery officials said the problem came from human error tied to an outside vendor, Smartplay International, Inc. Once the issue was identified, the lottery said it switched to a backup system while the fix was put in place.

The bigger story for players now is compensation. DC Lottery says affected customers will have several ways to recover value, depending on how they bought their tickets.

Who can get compensation

Players who chose two or more matching digits in a play for midday or evening drawings in DC 3, DC 4, or DC 5 during the affected dates may qualify for reimbursement or promotional value.

• Online or app purchases: eligible accounts will be credited automatically with free plays equal to the value of the affected ticket.
• Retail tickets with the original ticket still in hand: players can exchange the ticket for a coupon equal to the play value starting May 18, 2026. The ticket must be surrendered.
• Retail tickets that were lost or discarded: players can open a DC iLottery account and, through the end of June 2026, receive $10 in free play for DC 3, DC 4, and DC 5. The usual minimum deposit requirement has been waived for that offer.

DC Lottery is also preparing a Numbers Game 2nd Chance promotion starting May 18, 2026, with $150,000 in total prizes. The top award is $25,000, with additional prizes of $1,000, $250, and $50.

What players should do next

If you played repeated-digit combinations during the affected window, check how you purchased your ticket and whether you still have it. That will determine which remedy applies.

Players with questions can contact the DC Lottery Prize Center at 202-645-8000, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This story also lands in a bigger conversation about trust in digital draw systems, especially when a coding problem can quietly remove valid outcomes from a game. If you regularly play daily numbers, it is worth keeping an eye on how lotteries handle both transparency and player remediation when something breaks.

For more on daily draw games and player updates, visit our lottery games hub and check back for the latest news.