Pennsylvania Police Say $27,000 Worth of Lottery Tickets Stolen
Posted on: August 13, 2025, 08:31h.
Last updated on: August 21, 2025, 09:20h.
- Pennsylvania police are hunting for stolen lottery tickets
- A retailer says $27K in scratch-offs were stolen from their gas station
- Stolen tickets can be deactivated
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the reported theft of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets worth approximately $27K.
Per a public information release from the commonwealth’s law enforcement agency, a theft is alleged to have occurred at the Martin Pit Stop at 29459 Great Cove Road in Fort Littleton. The gas station is located just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike — Interstate 76 — in Fulton County’s Dublin Township.
State Police say the incident occurred around 6 am on June 1, 2025. The public information release was made on Tuesday, August 12.
Anyone with information about the matter is asked to call investigating officer Trooper Hibner in the police’s McConnellsburg Troop G barracks at 717-485-3131.
Little Information Made Public
The Pennsylvania State Police disseminates information regarding incidents that are likely to generate significant public and media interest. Information on such releases, however, “should be considered preliminary and subject to change as additional investigative details emerge.”
The alleged crime comes with few details. The release didn’t specify the type and monetary value of the Pennsylvania Lottery scratchers stolen, if there’s a suspect(s), and why police are only now disclosing the investigation.
Pennsylvania law prohibits an individual from selling scratch-offs at a price greater than the fixed amount set by the Pennsylvania Lottery. And, of course, stealing lottery tickets is a criminal offense.
It’s never a good idea to try to steal lottery tickets,” said Gary Miller, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Lottery. “You will get caught and you will be prosecuted.”
In Pennsylvania, stealing property valued at between $2,000 and $100K is graded a third-degree felony. Persons found guilty of such a charge face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to $15K.
Can Lottery Tickets Be Deactivated?
The short answer is, “yes,” the Pennsylvania Lottery can “deactivate” stolen scratch-off tickets.
Retailers carefully control ticket inventories,” Miller explained. “When tickets are reported stolen, the lottery takes immediate steps to prevent them from being cashed. We also provide law enforcement with additional information to assist in their investigations.”
When a lottery retailer receives a bundle of scratchers, they must be activated in the store by scanning the paper tickets.
Retailers activate packs of scratch-offs through their lottery terminal’s Scratch-Off Management system. The retailer scans the inventory barcode on the back of any ticket in the pack, which activates all of the plays.
Retailers then verify that the pack has been activated by scanning another ticket barcode. The terminal will display the pack as “verified” for sale if the process was handled properly.
The Pennsylvania Lottery can determine which scratchers went missing against tickets rightfully sold and deactivate the absent tickets. If a person in possession of a stolen, deactivated winning scratcher goes to redeem the prize, the lottery retailer redeeming the play will be notified that the game has been deactivated and the prize is invalid.
The Pennsylvania Lottery is among the richest in the United States, with sales last year totaling almost $5 billion. That ranked ninth behind New York ($10.5 billion), Florida ($9.4 billion), California ($9.2 billion), Texas ($8.3 billion), Massachusetts ($6.1 billion), Ohio ($5.9 billion), Georgia ($5.4 billion), and Maryland ($5.2 billion).
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