The B.C. Lottery Corporation runs all the casinos in B.C. with its private partners. (CBC)A problem gambler is suing the B.C. Lottery Corporation for allegedly allowing him to keep gambling after he joined a self-exclusion program but then refused to pay when he won a $40,000 jackpot.

Mike Lee signed a voluntary exclusion order three years ago but continued to frequent some B.C. casinos run by the BCLC.

Lee's lawyer, Joshua Weiszner, told CBC News his client won several smaller jackpots over the years and was always paid, but he was never barred from the casino.

"He provided his ID, he was paid, and he was never asked to leave — and a fundamental term of the agreement that he signed is that if he is identified, he will be asked to leave," Weiszner said.

Under the terms of the self-exclusion program, security staff at casinos are supposed to stop those in the program from gambling.

"To my client, that was a representation that it was permitted for him to play," Weiszner said. "Basically, they were turning a blind eye to it,"

However, when Lee won a $40,000 jackpot on a slot machine at a Cowichan casino in January, the lottery corporation refused to pay out the winnings.

"They let him play, they let him win in small amounts," Weiszner said. "When he won the jackpot — that's when they decided to rely on, not the agreement, but a rule they made, subsequent to the agreement.

"[Lee] feels that if he was allowed to play and lose, then he should be allowed to keep the winnings."

Weiszner said the BCLC now has a rule that self-excluders must forfeit their winnings, but that regulation was put in place after Lee signed his agreement.

Weiszner points out the BCLC is not offering to cover the losses Lee incurred during the exclusion order.

Colin Campbell, a criminologist at Douglas College who specializes in gambling research, is critical of the self-exclusion policy.

"You're asking casino staff and management to turn away what amounts to their best customers."

He said those signing the agreements may think they're being watched more closely than they actually are.

"These people that sign up for self-exclusion are obviously at some risk and are struggling to control their gambling appetites," Campbell said.

"In short, they're vulnerable people, and I'm not persuaded that's it entirely clear to the people who sign the agreement that they're not going to be monitored."

The lottery corporation said it cannot comment on the case because it is before the courts.

Earlier this month, CBC News revealed a Delta woman was suing B.C. for the loss of several hundred thousand dollars because it failed to bar her from casinos after she signed up for the voluntary self-exclusion program.