The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has released copies of an audit undertaken by Vancouver-based Blair Mackay Mynett Valuations (BMMV) to the public. The audit followed questions that had arisen over the frequency of wins by lottery retailers. The British Columbia Ombudsman also conducted an investigation, and a separate audit announced by the Minister of Public Safety & Solicitor General will be completed in October 2007.

BMMV reviewed all files documenting lottery wins between 2001 and 2007, and found no evidence or indication that prize payouts were made to anyone other than the rightful owners of the winning tickets. The audit concluded that the frequency of wins at lottery retailers was their ability to play often at their retail outlets and bet large amounts.

BCLC is taking action to prohibit retailers playing lottery games at work and to develop a player-initiated ticket validation process. British Columbia is the only jurisdiction in Canada to implement a ‘No Play at Work’ policy for lottery retailers. BCLC is also working with GTech Corporation to develop a new system that will allow players to retain control of their tickets at all times by initiating the ticket validation process themselves, and not the retailers.

Improvements to be implemented in the lottery system include standards to maintain integrity. No lottery retailer or their staff may purchase, play or validate lottery tickets at their place of employment (prior policies prohibited play while on active duty); and all lottery retailers claiming prizes of $1000 or more are to be directed to the BCLC Richmond or Kamloops offices for payout where they will be interviewed by both BCLC Prize Payout staff and corporate security investigators.

Believing that face-to-face communication is critical, BCLC Sales Reps will focus on training lottery retailers at regularly scheduled meetings to ensure that they understand the new policies. There will also be electronic reminders issued through lottery terminals. The Check a Ticket machines for customers should be at all lottery retail outlets by November 2007. (E-08.24.07)

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