Atlantic provinces to review lotto corporation

All four Atlantic provinces are launching an extensive review of the security and integrity of Atlantic Lotto.

The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation announced Tuesday it would team up with similar bodies in the other provinces to pay for the $300,000 investigation.

NSGC president Megan Mullally said looking at lottery ticket sales is essential given a recent report that found retailers are winning a disproportionate amount of the prize money.

"People have to have confidence that our systems are fair, secure," she said.

The review of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation will cover bingos, video lottery terminals and the Charlottetown racetrack, as well as lottery ticket operations.

Atlantic Lotto spokeswoman Paula Dyke said the corporation will co-operate with the review.

"It references a number of aspects of ALC business, it talks about all aspects of our operations, and to date, most of our focus has been on issues arising from retailer wins," she said.

In March, Atlantic Lotto released a report that found lottery ticket sellers won 10 times more often than a statistical analysis says they should have over the last six years.

The report prompted one consumers group to call for an RCMP investigation.

In New Brunswick, the provincial ombudsman said he would monitor Atlantic Lotto's attempts to protect consumers but he did not think an investigation was necessary.