CANADIAN LOTTERY ROW GROWS

1 June 2007

Top lotto executives hang in to sort out the mess

The lottery row in the British Columbia province of Canada continues to make waves following criticism by provincial ombudsman Kim Carter that the government-owned B.C. Lottery Corporation did not have adequate procedures in place to ensure that correct prize amounts were paid out to the rightful owners of winning tickets.

In a new development reported by CBC News, Solicitor General John Les revealed that he had ordered an independent audit of the $2 billion industry. In announcing the audit, Les said Carter's report raises questions about how the system became vulnerable to fraud.

"It defies belief that the lottery corporation didn't know there was likely criminal fraud going on against the public," Les said.

The row is centred on the high ratio of wins attributed to ticket retailers in the lottery. In her report on the B.C. situation, Carter said that a few retailers appeared to be winning unusually often, with 21 B.C. Lottery Corporation retailers or employees turning up as multiple winners. She noted that one retailer won 11 times in five years, collecting more than $300 000 in prizes.

Last year, Ontario academics at Toronto University voiced concerns about ticket retailer wins in that province's lottery after running extensive statistic-based analytical studies.

Two executives who head the BC Lottery Corporation, CEO Vic Poleschuk and chairman John McLernon have made it clear that they will not be resigning following the ombudsman's report. The duo have said that they regret the ombudsman's finding, and that there was no evidence anyone had ever lost a prize to retailer fraud under their tenure. They will take responsibility to help resolve any issues, they said.

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