Lotto workers winning too often

680 news October 25, 2006 - 8:05 am By: 680News staff
Toronto - You know the odds are against you when you play the lottery, but did you ever think the odds would be with the person who sold you the ticket? That is apparently the case, according to a CBC Fifth Estate investigation. 214 lottery insiders have won major cash prizes of at least $50 000 in last seven years. A statistician with the University of Toronto tells the program that statistically the odds of winning are one in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion. Dr. Jeffrey Rosenthal says retailers should have been expected to win around 57 times. The Fifth Estate suggests some customers, especially elderly ones may be tricked into thinking they only won a minor prize. They say lotto retailers then claim the prize later on. In a news release sent to 680News, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation say Integrity is a core value of the organization. The OLG says they "offer one of the safest, most secure and most highly regulated products in the world." The OLG says they conduct an investigation "100 per cent of the time" when a retailer and/or clerk wins a major prize, and if they believe there is a serious concern with a lottery prize claim, the police are contacted. They say a security feature is in place to freeze lottery terminals, shutting them down completely when a major-prize winning ticket of $50,000 or more is validated.OLG staff then calls the retailer and speak directly to the winner while they are in the store to provide specific instructions. They say the terminal can only be turned back on by their corporate head office. To protect yourself, always sign the back of your ticket; check your numbers yourself either online at http://www.olg.ca/, or using winning number lists at retail stores. Lists can be found on customer screens or by asking for a hard copy, on television, or in the newspapers. You should also make sure you get your ticket back, with the validation slip.