Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin is launching his own investigation into growing concerns that lottery insiders, such as store clerks who sell tickets, are winning too many prizes.
The fact that the Ontario government did not take stronger steps than asking Ontario lottery officials to undertake an internal review after “serious allegations” of theft and fraud of tickets was “a factor” in the decision, Marin said.
“We’re an office of last resort,” he told a news conference this afternoon.
“We’re really concerned . . . the insiders have disproportionately benefited from wins and whether there’s any hanky-panky.”
The ombudsman said he also wants to hear from Ontario residents about how they’ve been treated by the lottery corporation.
Concerns about lottery insiders winning what Marin called “vastly disproportionate” numbers of prizes were the subject of an investigative report last night by CBC television’s the Fifth Estate, which focused on an 82-year-old man who was bilked out of his $250,000 winning ticket by a store clerk.
He later settled with the lottery corporation after taking them to court. Source.
