Sports lotto millionaires beat the taxman

Last Updated: Thursday, December 21, 2006 | 7:04 PM ET

CBC Sports

Two brothers who made millions playing sports lotteries won't have to give Revenue Canada a piece of their winnings.

In a decision issued Thursday in Ottawa, Tax Court Chief Justice Don Bowman ruled the multi-million-dollar fortune Brian and Terry Leblanc accrued by playing sports lotteries may defy explanation, but it was exempt from taxation.

Revenue Canada had claimed the brothers, former window-washers, had somehow found a way to beat the system, and demanded they be taxed as a business.

"Good for them, but it's time that they coughed up a part of that so that the rest of the people of Canada don't have to carry the burden that they're presenting," Revenue Canada lawyer Roger Leclerc argued.

The LeBlancs' lawyer responded that betting on sports lotteries is too risky to be considered a business, and winnings are tax exempt, no matter how many times you hit the jackpot.

"There's no tax on luck," Bill Vanveen told CBC Radio's Teddy Katz.

The brothers said they used a computer to help see what kind of combinations would earn them a big pay day. But in the end, they said, their bets came down to pure guesses.

The Leblancs also told the court they lived frugally — even after they started winning — and spent $200,000 to $300,000 per week on sports lotteries across Canada. At one point they had 15 people buying tickets for them.

It paid off for the brothers, whom Justice Bowman called compulsive gamblers, with lottery wins all over the country.