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A lottery upheaval in the Canadian province of British Columbia continues to boil following acute criticism by provincial ombudsman Kim Carter. Carter maintains that the government owned B.C. Lottery Corporation did not have proper procedures in place to ensure that correct prize amounts were paid out to the rightful owners of winning tickets.
CBC News reports that the Solicitor General, John Les, revealed that he has 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,” said Les.
Ontario academics at Toronto University voiced concerns a year ago about ticket retailer wins in that province's lottery after running extensive statistic-based analytical studies.
The row centers around the high ratio of wins attributed to ticket retailers in the lottery. In her report on the B.C. situation, Kim 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.
CEO Vic Poleschuk and Chairman John McLernon, two executives who head the BC Lottery Corporation, said that they will do all they can to help resolve any issues. They added that they will not resign as a result of the ombudsman's report. “We regret the ombudsman's finding. There is no evidence showing that anyone has ever lost a prize to retailer fraud while we have been in office.”
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