The OLG is fighting at least one legal challenge for awarding a year old $50 million Lotto Max jackpot to a Hamilton woman. It appears the Ontario gambling regulator will soon face a second challenge demanding a redraw of a lottery from over a year ago.
Patricia Watson, who lives in the Puslinch community south of Guelph, launched an online petition demanding the OLG redo the Lotto Max draw from November 30 2012. Watson is demanding the OLG put $50 million of its own money into a new jackpot, and hopes to gather 10,000 signatures to enforce her demands.
The root of the case stems from the November 30 2012 draw, in which the drawn numbers matched those on a ticket, but no one came forward to claim the prize. Under OLG rules, winning players have up to a full year following the draw to claim or forfeit their money.
With the deadline approaching, the OLG launched its own investigation by reviewing security footage and credit card receipts from the store in Cambridge where the winning ticket was sold. Eventually investigators found Kathryn Jones of Hamilton, and presented the woman with her cheque earlier this year.
A resident of Cambridge named Les King challenged the authenticity of awarding Jones the money, claiming he spent over a year attempting to prove he held the winning ticket. King launched a lawsuit against the OLG demanding the $50 million, as well as an additional $1.3 million in damages.
Watson, on the other hand, is not challenging Jones’ right to the money. Instead, Watson wants the OLG to recognize it violated its own rules of only awarding money to winners with their tickets. Both Jones and King admit they lost their tickets, and Watson feels many more people could have benefitted from a jackpot gone unclaimed.
