Two individuals who regularly play the lottery in Quebec are suing the province’s gambling regulatory body. According to Michael Amar and Rajib Ullah, the ‘extra’ option does not ever offer players the chance to win, negating Loto Quebec’s claims that all lottery draws are random.
Over the course of the last year, Amar and Ullah noticed that when they purchased two or more ‘extra’ numbers, the first and last lines of their tickets did not duplicate. The two plaintiffs claim that this is called the lockout mechanism, as the lottery operate is selling tickets that have no chance of winning.
According to Amar and Ullah duplicated ‘extra’ numbers are they key to winning the prize offered. If the numbers were truly randomized, there would be some repetition and players would be able to win at least some of the time. However, that is not that case.
As such, the two plaintiffs are suing Loto Quebec for $10 million each. They have claimed $40 000 in damages for themselves and the remainder of the $20 million in punitive damages.
Loto Quebec has decided to contest the charges. Regardless of the result of the lawsuit, the suspicious situation has already been brought to light. Even if the court does not require Loto Quebec to pay the damages, it is likely that the gaming operator’s reputation will be tarnished.