New Rules for Canadian Lotto Retailers – September 18th, 2009

The Canadian Press reports that Ontario retailers who sell lottery tickets will soon be banned from playing tickets purchased in their own stores.

The move is being instituted to stop questionable wins by insiders and the restriction is reportedly due to take effect in November, a Government source is quoted as saying. While retailers may not buy and redeem tickets in their own stores, they will still be able to play the lottery if the tickets are bought and redeemed at stores other than their own.

The troubled Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has been under fire over the past two years for a series of problems including insider wins and spoiled scratch cards.

The government source added that the government is implementing all of the recommendations from a scathing 2007 report from Ontario Ombudsman, Andre Marin. The report found that retailers collected tens of millions of dollars in “dishonest” winnings while the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. turned a blind eye to the problem.

“These new rules are an important step in the road toward earning back the public’s confidence and trust in the OLG,” the source said.