306 million lottery tickets were sold in B.C. last year.
Last year, 55 million winning lottery tickets were validated in B.C.
An average of 830,000 lottery tickets were sold per day by lottery
retailers in B.C. last year.
$470 million was paid out in prizes to lottery winners last year.
10 people became millionaires or multi-millionaires from BCLC lottery
games last year.
There were about 4,100 lottery retail outlets last year.
There are about 30,000 lottery retailers selling BCLC products
throughout the province.
None of the audits carried out on B.C.’s lottery system, including the
B.C. Ombudsman’s report, has found evidence that prizes were paid to anyone
but the rightful ticket holder.
In June 2002, BCLC was one of the first lottery jurisdictions in Canada
to implement an audible signal when a winning ticket is validated at a
lottery terminal.
In late 2006, one of the player protection layers BCLC added was
setting the volume of the winning jingle on our lottery terminals to its
maximum level and extending its playing time.
As part of our Player First program, we conduct regular, independent
research into lottery retailer play activity and report the results to the
public.
Lottery retailers are restricted from purchasing, playing or validating
personal lottery tickets at their location of employment.
Customer
Display Monitors with purchase and validation information are located
in a fixed position at each lottery retail location, clearly visible to
players.
When a prize of $10,000 or greater is validated, the lottery terminal
freezes until it is unlocked by BCLC. The player is alerted of the win and a
BCLC representative contacts the store immediately, asks to speak to the
player to obtain important information about their ticket and explains to the
player what to do next.
Check-A-Ticket terminals are available at every lottery retail
outlet. Players can check their own tickets on the terminals which display
the prize amount of any win.
Player First is a program of major
initiatives that puts the interests of our players at the forefront of
everything we do. Some of these initiatives have already been implemented
while others will be implemented over the longer term. BCLC is on track to
have all Player First initiatives implemented by summer 2009.
On an
aided basis, 82* per cent of British Columbians polled could recall at least
one action taken by BCLC to improve the lottery system. As well, 34* per cent
of lottery players said they sign the back of their ticket always or most
of the time and 66* per cent use Check-A-Ticket terminals to check if their
ticket is a winner.
*Ipsos Reid Public Affairs’ BC Lottery Poll,
September 2008
Our system today is among the best in
North America. With our Player First program, we are making it even better,
and British Columbians are taking notice; 67* per cent of British Columbians
said they trust BCLC to manage lottery games in B.C. (up 25 per cent from May
2007); 69* percent said they trust BCLC to ensure the right prizes are paid to
the rightful owner of the ticket (up 32 per cent from May 2007).
Here
are some of the steps we have taken or are undertaking to improve our system:
Lottery Retailers have agreed to a Code of Conduct that includes a
No Play at Work Policy which prohibits them from purchasing, playing or
validating personal lottery tickets at their place of employment
Retailers have also implemented new validation procedures whereby all
winning and non-winning tickets are returned to players with a validation slip. Winning tickets paid out by
lottery retailers are stamped "PAID By Lottery Retailer"
Check-A-Ticket terminals displaying amount of prize win are in all lottery retail locations
Customer Display Monitors now face players at all times
Lowered the validation limit at lottery retail locations from $3,000 to
$999.99
Set the "We’re in the money" win tune at the highest volume
Made tamper-proof improvements to our equipment
Improved monitoring and reporting of lottery retailer play and win rates
Made immediate improvements to BCLC’s customer complaint tracking
investigation and resolution processes, including introducing a Lottery
Player Complaint Centre
Implemented a formal advertising campaign to educate players about
player protection measures
Improved training and formally certifying all lottery retailers and
their employees who operate lottery terminals
*Ipsos Reid Public
Affairs’ BC Lottery Poll, September 2008
B.C.’s Ombudsman is Kim Carter. The B.C.
Ombudsman is an office of the provincial legislature and is independent of
government and political parties. The Ombudsman is responsible for ensuring
that the administrative practices and services of public agencies, including
Crown corporations, are fair, reasonable, appropriate and equitable.
Yes. BCLC has initiated a program called
Player First which incorporates the Ombudsman’s recommendations and
additional actions that go beyond the Ombudsman’s report.
Player
First is setting new standards in North America for player service and
protection.
A majority of the recommendations have been either completed or will be by Summer 2009. A summary and detailed report of each recommendation is available here.
We have commissioned independent research (Ipsos Reid) to look into retailer play and spend rates. The results of this year’s retailer play and spend rates along with their win rates was then independently analyzed. All three reports were released on August 1, 2008 and can be found here.
