The newspaper reports that revelations that lottery retailers in B.C. win major prizes six times more often than the public have raised concerns that some retailers may be stealing customers' winning tickets, and claims that the lottery corporation's security records show at least four cases where retailers inappropriately claimed customers' winnings.
The investigation follows similar alleged anomalies in the high ratio of ticket retailer wins discovered in October by Toronto University statisticians, which led to the Ombudsman in Ontario declaring an investigation in the public interest.
The Canadian Press reported this week that lotteries are still the biggest source of gambling revenue for the Ontario government, far outpacing casinos and slot machines at racetracks.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says it sold $2.3 billion in lottery tickets and instant scratch games in 2004-05. The province's four commercial casinos pulled in almost $1.6 billion in revenues in the last fiscal year, while charity casinos and slot machines at racetracks earned $1.9 billion.
|
|
|
