Atlantic Lottery says it won't stop retailers and their employees from playing, despite a CBC report that showed retailers in Ontario have been winning at a rate that is statistically absolutely inconceivable.
'I might just start tracking it just to be able to answer the question for reporters.'- Mike Randall, ALC
In 2001, an Ontario retailer tried to defraud a man out of a winning ticket, and reports of fraud attempts are becoming more common in the U.S. But Mike Randall, vice-president of communications at Atlantic Lottery Corporation said there has never been a complaint in this region.
"At Atlantic Lottery our retailers, our staff, none of the people involved in the sale of our products, has the potential to impact the outcome of any of our products," said Randall.
In a report aired this week, CBC's investigative documentary program The Fifth Estate had statistician Jeffrey Rosenthal of the University of Toronto look at the number of times retailers in Ontario won the lottery over the last seven years.
Retailers won about 200 major prizes in that time period. According to Rosenthal's analysis, they should have won about 57. He said the chance of them winning 200 times is one in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion.
A visit to Atlantic Lotto's website finds retailers have won big prizes in this region.
Despite these questions, ALC said it won't be banning its 3,800 retailers from playing the lottery. Randall said ALC's games are foolproof, but the corporation may now consider keeping track of how many retailers win.
"After today, especially with so many requests, I might just start tracking it just to be able to answer the question for reporters," he said.
Atlantic Lottery says people should treat all lottery tickets like potential winners, watch the validation process take place, ask for the validation slip, and sign the back of any ticket.
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The CBC's Barb McKenna talks to Mike Randall, vice-president of social responsibility with Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
(Runs: 5:49)
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