Sunday, December 23, 2007

BC Lotteries - butt out, you players

BC Lotteries refuses to release the names of the retailers with lottery terminals who won prizes over 10,000 dollars!
The winning ticket switch in Ontario is in the news right now because the Ontario Lottery Corporation went after someone who did it, taking a four million dollar prize for himself. The rightful holders of the winning numbers are getting their money and the OLC is suing the man to return the money. This is not because their lottery corporation did anything at all, it is because of an investigative TV program!
Switching tickets is a pretty easy thing to do. You go to your ticket retailer and ask him to check your numbers, he has already checked some numbers that he knows are not winners and keeps those slips near his cash register, he punches in your numbers, sees that it is a winning combination, then hands you the slip with the non-winning numbers and you walk away disappointed. He now pockets your ticket with the winning numbers, waits a few weeks and then claims the prize! YOUR prize. in the Ontario scam it was four million tax free dollars!
Here in BC a similar investigation took place. However, our trusty BCLC won't tell us who cheated us. Or how many. Of how much. They won't even state a reason. Privacy concerns? They tell us they can't tell you who might have cheated you out of your winnings, because those retailers might suffer business losses if it became known they cheated! What? Oh my gawd! Hardship! People might not want to buy lotto tickets from a cheater. No one at our BCLC seems to have even thought to take away their lotto business! Even if we cannot prove they cheated we still need to know what retailers won large amounts of cash.
It's time the BC Lottery Corporation showed us they are honest and policing their business. And willing to deal out harsh punishment. And we might ask how a corporation can prevent us from knowing the truth of the situation anyway? BC Government needs to step forward and fire someone for their arrogance at the BCLC.
But then it's a blind eye isn't it? They won't even call it gambling though that's what it is. Where is Tony Soprano when we need him? I'll gladly give him his cut if he gives me mine.
At least the Mafia would be fair and they know how to handle cheaters.

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