The Atlantic Lottery Corp. is examining ways to keep track of how often retailers are actually playing the corporation's games.

Michelle Carinci, president of the lottery corporation, told New Brunswick's public accounts committee in Fredericton on Wednesday that presently retailers only give their best guess of how much they actually play.

In 2007, a study by the Atlantic Lottery Corp. found ticket sellers won 10 times more often than they should have over a six-year period. The numbers were based on retailers' self-reported amount of game-play.

The introduction of a system to monitor the game-play would give a real picture of how often retailers are gambling, Carinci said.

"Do you remember how much you play? Do you really keep track of how much you play? So we're looking at opportunities where retailers would actually be able to track how much they play and so would we," she said.

The corporation is just looking at the feasibility and practicality of the system for now, Carinci said. But it would likely require retailers to use an electronic player card, which would register their name on all tickets they purchase.

Under the system, if retailers go to claim a prize and they haven't registered their name on the ticket, the corporation could choose not to pay out the winnings, she said.

Other jurisdictions are also examining using similar technology, she said. The corporation hopes to have some sort of monitoring system in place by 2009.