Ontario's gaming corporation is tightening security measures at lottery terminals in the wake of a CBC investigation that questioned the improbably high number of wins among retailers and clerks.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) released a list of new lottery security measures Thursday afternoon that include plans to install new electronic devices at every ticket location for lottery players to check their own tickets, devices that are in place in other provinces.

Lottery players in Ontario will soon be able to check their own tickets with new electronic machines the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. plans to install at every location.
(CBC)

Under the new rules, retailers and clerks also cannot check a lottery ticket unless the customer has signed the back of the ticket. Those who fail to follow protocol risk the removal of their lottery terminals.

"If we're going to preserve the public's trust, then we have to be seen, and we want to be seen, to be acting in a responsible manner," OLG chief executive officer Duncan Brown said.

In the news release Thursday, the OLG also apologized to customers who felt their complaints were not taken seriously.

The move is an effort to win back the trust of lottery players after an investigation by the CBC's The Fifth Estate reported that lottery ticket sellers in Ontario have won prizes more times than is statistically probable, with the average prize around $500,000.

OLG 'managing' public's feelings: ombudsman

Brown denied the steps were taken to head off an ongoing investigation by Ontario's watchdog, ombudsman André Marin.

'It strikes me that the OLG, in this case, is managing the public and managing their feelings.'-Ontario ombudsman André Marin

A day after the story made national headlines, Marin launched a systemic investigation into how the OLG responds to complaints from customers and what mechanisms are in place to protect them.

Marin called the agency's new security measures a good first step, but said his investigation will go ahead because the corporation has failed to address the way it treats complaints.

"It strikes me that the OLG, in this case, is managing the public and managing their feelings," said Marin.

The ombudsman said he has received 330 complaints about the OLG to date.

Marin's investigation will not look at whether ticket holders actually won lotteries, but rather focus on the OLG's treatment of complaints.

Other measures to signal a win

The Fifth Estate focused on the story of an elderly Ontario man whose $250,000 winning Encore ticket was stolen by clerks in the small town of Coboconk when they pretended it was their own ticket.

Bob Edmonds heard the lottery machine ring, signalling a payout, but the clerk gave him only a free ticket.

He fought for years before the gaming corporation finally recognized the ticket as his and eventually paid him in a confidential settlement.

Other security measures the OLG is taking involve changing the text on video screens that tells customers they've won, making it larger and easier to read.

The corporation will also launch a campaign to educate people on how to protect themselves and begin probing all wins by retailers and clerks of $10,000 and more. Current protocol calls for an investigation into wins of $50,000 and more.