A recent report by the CBC has uncovered that the number of big lottery jackpots cashed in by individuals affiliated with Atlantic Lottery Corporation has increased. This news has alerted officials, as it may mean that some fraud is taking place in the local lottery market. Over the course of 2011, 64 lottery wins over $10 000 were won by individuals who were in some way connected to the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. This marks a 45% increase from the previous year; so, it is no wonder that authorities have become concerned.
Jacques Allard, a statistics professor at the University of Moncton, issued a warning about lottery fraud in March. Despite this recent news, he has since rethought his claims and states that it is not a significant issue in the Atlantic provinces. He believes that more stringent reporting requirements has simply highlighted the number of wins while these types of jackpots simply went unrecorded in the past. As such, the actual increase may not be as significant as reports have stated.
Still, it highlights some flaws in the system. 14% of all big lottery wins were awarded to individuals related in some way to the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Regardless of which way you look at it, it still appears to be unfair to those who do not have connections in the lottery industry. Should this number continue to increase, Allard believes that an investigation into the issue.
"Further investigation would be warranted if the relative number of $10,000+ Non Arms Length winners further increases," Allard states.
In other provinces, there have been crackdowns on this type of activity. In Ontario, the entire lottery ticket reporting system was revamped to ensure that insiders would not be able to cash in winning lottery tickets. It compromises the integrity of the local lottery, discouraging players from purchasing tickets. If the Atlantic Lottery wants to prevent this from happening, it may need to consider employing some strict rules when it comes to claiming lottery ticket wins.
