Dozens report lottery wrongs
Phones at Ontario Ombudsman André Marin’s office have been “ringing off the hook” with 124 complaints since he announced an investigation into the province’s government-run lottery corporation two days ago.
“You could say we’ve hit the jackpot,” Marin said last night. “The majority of the calls are allegations people were cheated out of their winnings and the failure ofthe Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to properly investigate.”
Marin launched the probe two days ago after CBC’s the fifth estate detailed the case of cancer survivor Bob Edmonds, 83, who was scammed out of a winning $250,000 ticket by a convenience store clerk. The clerk later paid him a $150,000 settlement after a police probe.
The program that prompted Marin’s investigation found 214 lottery “insiders” have won prizes $50,000 or larger since 1999, a number Marin and statistical experts called disproportionate.
Edmonds’ running battle with the corporation appeared to come to an end yesterday, as officials dropped a demand he pay some of its legal fees in the latest case he launched against it. The retired Ontario Hydro employee from Coboconk is to return to court Monday to ask a judge to clarify just what he can say under a confidentiality deal reached two years ago, after he settled a lawsuit with the corporation over the scammed ticket.
The gag order prohibits him from talking in detail about his case or the worth of the settlement — $100,000, according to his wife, Theresa Edmonds.
Corporation officials also agreed to pay Edmonds’ legal bills of about $26,000 in the matter, said his lawyer Alan Rachlin, of Toronto. “It’s a huge relief to Mr. Edmonds.”
Marin praised the move as a “very good first step.” His investigators seek corporation data by Nov. 10, including details of all winners in the past five years.
A corporation spokesperson did not return two Star calls.
Edmonds told the Star he still spends $25 a week on tickets, “the only entertainment I get … at my age. I still get a kick out of winning even a free ticket.”