Saturday, December 02, 2006

Ontario gambling officials, already under critical scrutiny for questionable lottery retailer conduct and supporting political attempts to ban advertising for online gambling were facing further protests this week regarding the sale of already won scratch cards. Ontario media reported that a national gambling watchdog group has claimed that current scratch card sale practices are unfair and misleading to the consumer. The Gambling Watch Network has reportedly complained to Ontario's ombudsman that scratch tickets are sold even after the top prizes have been won. A spokesman for the watchdog group said retailers should stop selling tickets if the buyer has no chance of winning the jackpot. Apparently similar scratch card practices have been the subject of scrutiny and lawsuits in the United States, causing some state lotteries to include disclaimers on the tickets explaining that some prizes may already be won.