Montana Lottery pauses Millionaire sales after system crash

Montanans who planned to buy tickets for the state's annual $1 million lottery drawing on Sunday faced hours of delays when the sales system crashed. The Montana Lottery officially postponed the game around 11 a.m. after technical issues prevented the purchase of tickets for most of the morning.

The disruption affected players statewide. At a Circle K on Grand Avenue in Billings, Jason Ans arrived before 4 a.m. and took the fifth spot in line. He watched the first customers complete their transactions, with tickets printing every five minutes, before the system stopped working. Ans initially believed the problem was limited to that store until he spoke with his son at a different location.

The lottery first acknowledged the issues at 6 a.m., thirty minutes after the 5:30 a.m. sales start time. Austin Miles, waiting at a Billings Circle K on Broadwater Avenue, reported that his store experienced a power outage before the lights returned. The system briefly restarted but crashed again. Miles noted that friends working at other gas stations and bars across the state reported similar outages.

"System's been down from everything I've been told all over the state," Miles said. He added that the tickets are usually sold out by that time of day.

The annual event draws thousands of participants seeking one of six $1 million grand prizes or instant-win rewards. In 2024, tickets sold out in a record three hours. The $20 tickets have become a fixed tradition for many residents. "Every November 1st is Montana Millionaire Day," Miles said.

Customers waited for nearly seven hours. Some brought chairs, while others stood in line. A few reported feeling faint as the morning progressed. Social media posts from across Montana questioned the timeline for resuming sales.

The lottery attributed the failure to a transition to a new central gaming system provided by vendor Bally's Intralot in September. This was the first year Montana Millionaire sales ran on that platform. The agency identified three specific problems: performance issues from high transaction volumes, instant-win prizes awarding more frequently than intended, and errors in the website and mobile data feeds.

The lottery is working with Bally's Intralot to fix the issues. To keep the game fair, approximately $500,000 in instant-win prizes that were awarded too often during the brief sales window will be added back to the remaining tickets. All tickets purchased before the shutdown remain valid. A new sales date will be announced after the data is validated.

Jason Ans described the mood among the waiting crowd as generally patient, despite some hostility at other locations. "The guy was standing next to me, bought me water, which is really nice," he said.

Zane Johnson, who was second in line, managed to buy his tickets before the final postponement announcement. "Got my tickets. So I'm happy. I'm ready to go home," Johnson said. The Montana Lottery will share updates on a new sales date through its website, social media, and retailers.