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 and their employees are prohibited 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 2010.
BCLC committed to reporting quarterly on our Player First progress for two years. The final Player First report was released August 2009 and can be found on the Player First Quarterly Reports page. Moving forward, BCLC will continue to provide retailer discipline charts and Security's investigation stats on a quarterly basis and an annual review of our retailer's participation in BCLC's lottery games.
Our system today is among the best in North America. With our Player First program, we are continuing to make it even better.
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 or their employees 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 display the amount of prize wins and are in all lottery retail locations
Customer Display Monitors 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
Improved training and formally certifying all lottery retailers and their employees who operate lottery terminals
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 initiated a program called Player First which incorporated the Ombudsman's recommendations and additional actions that went beyond the Ombudsman's report.
Player First set new standards in North America for player service and protection.
A majority of the recommendations have been completed and the remaining two will be complete by the summer of 2010. A summary and detailed report of each recommendation is available on the Player First Quarterly Reports page.
We commission 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 have been independently analyzed. All three documents can be found here.
BCLC will continue to report on the data of our retailer's participation on an annual basis.
