Skip to main content

The man who fixed lottery jackpots may have fixed a lot more than first thought

Think winning the lottery is pure luck? If your name is Eddie Tipton, you certainly don’t. The former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association has already been convicted of fixing the lottery (and then winning it) in Iowa, but now, authorities believe that Tipton may have been involved in many more scandals across many more states. Investigators are now looking into whether or not Tipton tampered with lotteries in a whopping 37 other states or territories over the last 12 years.

Tipton’s long-running scheme involved the installation of a piece of malicious software known as a root kit, which allowed the gambler to determine the lottery’s winning numbers beforehand. To collect on the jackpots, Tipton would have friends and accomplices buy the “lucky” ticket. But at some point, the ex-security director became careless, and ended up purchasing the winning ticket himself (which is obviously a big no-no). What’s more, he decided to buy the lotto ticket near the Multi-State Lottery Association’s headquarters, making it all the easier to catch him red-handed.

Recommended Videos

Thus far, officials are pretty confident in Tipton’s involvement in schemes across four states over the course of six years, during which he picked up a cool $8 million. But now, they’re extrapolating even further. “It would be pretty naive to believe they are the only four” jackpots involved, Thomas H. Miller, the former Iowa deputy attorney general who led the investigation for two and a half years said. “If you find one cockroach, you have to assume there are 100 more you haven’t found.”

Tipton’s lawyer, however, insists that his client is being falsely accused of these additional fraudulent actions. “There’s just absolutely no evidence whatsoever that he did anything to alter the proper operations of the computers that were used to pick those numbers, absolutely no evidence. It’s just all speculation,” attorney Dean Stowers said.

For their part, lottery officials are viewing the entire debacle as a very serious wake-up call. “This is kind of an eye-opener,” said Oklahoma Lottery director Rollo Redburn. “It reaffirms the fact that we’ve got to be constantly vigilant against people trying to defraud the system.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The best deals in the Dell Spring Clearance Sale
A Dell laptop with a blue flower desktop background.

It's officially spring, and Dell Canada is doing some spring cleaning. There are two Dell Canada sales going on right now: the Spring Clearance Sale and a special promotion for students. Whether you're prepping for next school year or just upgrading your daily driver laptop, Dell is sure to have a deal that interests you.

During these sales, Dell has slashed up to $550 off select laptops and accessories, and students get 10% off certain products. Check out both sales below, and see what we've picked as the standout deals.

Read more
The Academy Awards have new film rules. AI is now okay for the Oscars
Robots touching Oscar award.

In 2024, Hollywood was roiled by protests led by the SAG-AFTRA union, fighting for fair rights over their physical and voice identities in the age of AI. A deal was inked late last year to ensure that artists are fairly compensated, but the underlying current was obvious. 

AI in films is here to stay. 

Read more
No more nasty surprises as Airbnb makes big change to booking process
An Airbnb sign.

A key point of frustration for many Airbnb users  is the way the accommodation site adds mandatory extras such as cleaning fees and service fees at the very end of the booking process, sometimes making the desired booking suddenly unaffordable.

Airbnb has finally gotten the message and on Monday announced that users everywhere will now see the total price of their stay right from the start of the booking process, including all fees before taxes (in some countries the taxes will also be shown from the outset).

Read more