Virginia lottery officials have decided to award a $27 million jackpot to an Australian gambling syndicate after concluding that the winning ticket was not bought in violation of lottery rules, according to state government sources.

Lottery Director Kenneth W. Thorson has scheduled a news conference for this morning to announce that the prize will be awarded to the trustee for the Melbourne-based International Lotto Fund, the sources said.

That means the gamble by the group - which includes 2,500 investors - to buy out the record Feb. 15 drawing has paid off, even though the syndicate fell short of buying all 7 million possible combinations.

Thorson's decision will not be final until his agency is able to confirm information about the lottery fund and how its prize will be distributed with Australian securities authorities and the Internal Revenue Service.

Thorson determined the winning ticket was issued properly.