Hundreds of Hoosiers have collected thousands of dollars in lottery winnings from a faulty game introduced – and then shut down immediately – in March.

The Hoosier Lottery released a new, $20 fast play ticket game. But all 632 tickets sold came back as winners, prompting the lottery to halt sales.

The lottery announced it would honor all those tickets as winners. Lottery Commissioner Chair William Zielke said that was a difficult and expensive decision.

“But I think it was the correct one for the lottery to maintain that kind of commitment and loyalty amongst our players,” Zielke said.

About two-thirds of the tickets sold have already been claimed and paid out.

An investigation into the problem revealed a software error by IGT, the private company that runs the lottery for Indiana. Zielke said the Hoosier Lottery will seek financial compensation from IGT.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.