JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- If you are playing to win the Florida Lottery, you may be playing for nothing, according to a Channel 4 investigation.

Top prizes in some of the lottery's scratch off games may be nonexistent, and you may still be buying tickets with zero chances of winning the top prize.

Lottery Commission spokesperson Leslie Steele says scratch off tickets are big sellers because, "People like taking chances." In fact, multi-millions are spent each year by players hoping to cash in on an instant fortune. But the games, Steele concedes, are a roll of the dice.

Channel 4's Scott Johnson found there are no top prizes remaining in at least 25 percent of all of the Florida Lottery's scratch off games.

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SPECIAL: Main Prizes Remaining
NOTE: Flalottery.com's Top Prizes Remaining Page

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"There are 14 games out there that don't have top prizes," Steele said.

Scratch-off players were outraged when they learned what we uncovered

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Prizes In Some Scratch-Off Games May Be Nonexistent

"That's a big scam, not a little one," lottery player Al Simeina said. "I'm never buying them again."

Behind the scratch off game is a fine line between a quick fix win and an impossible losing gamble. That's because in some of the games, the grand prizes have already been won.

But the fact that you can't win isn't stopping the Florida Lottery Commission from continuing to sell you tickets for a losing game. Steele says, "Consumers need to read the fine print."

Player Dino Dipisa was buying a $20 lottery ticket when we told him the results of our investigation.

Dipisa was surprised. He said, "The whole concept is to win the big prize and that obviously doesn't exist anymore."

But spokesperson Leslie Steele defended the practice of the Lottery Commission saying, "Everyone doesn't play scratch off games for the half a million dollars. Our players play for the entertainment and the good products and services we offer."

Saltzman also discovered it's not just the grand prizes that are on the list of nonexistent cash winnings.

In nine of the games, Local 6 found there is not even a chance of winning the top runner-up payouts.

Steele said the commission is not misleading its players by selling them tickets to a game with a grand prize that's already been won. Once you buy the ticket, Steel said, you can read the disclaimer on the bottom line.

"You look down a little lower when you are scratching your ticket, there may not be any top prizes remaining," Steele said.

Another player said, "It's just a waste of money."

In all the scratch-off games played for this report, Johnson only won $2 after sinking $17 into the scratch-off cash pot.

If you want to know what's in it for you, we'll show you what the Lottery Commission won't.

Click here to see a list of all the lottery scratch off games, including the main prizes that are remaining and the losing games when they're already gone.