Lottery players may be tossing out winning tickets because they're not being tested properly at self-serve checkers.

Lottery players are advised to double-check their ticket numbers, because some winning tickets may slip past self-serve ticket checkers. (Steve Nurenberg/Associated Press)According to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, the problem isn't with the machines. It's how people are using them that make the results unreliable.

"They are 100 per cent accurate," WCLC spokeswoman Andrea Marantz says of the machines.

"They will not give false readings. If the bar code is damaged on the ticket, it won't read it."

When people are in a hurry to check tickets, however, especially several in a series quickly, there can be a glitch. The machine needs time to reset between tickets.

"You always have to wait till it says 'check your tickets here,'" said Saskatoon kiosk operator Joy Postlewaite. "If you do it before that, it doesn't click in right."

So when someone runs several tickets through without waiting, the same message will remain on the machine, saying the ticket is not a winner, even if it is.

Marantz says its up to ticket buyers to ensure they're using the machine properly. She also stresses it's a good idea to double-check the numbers.

That's advice that Brenda Bright of Saskatoon will heed. She generally buys two six packs of Lotto Max tickets every week, and uses a scanner to check them.

"I just don't take the time to do it," she said, "I expect it (the machine) will do what it's supposed to do."

Faced with the thought she may have tossed a winning ticket, Bright now says she'll take her time and ensure she's using the machine properly.