TORONTO - Ontario's ombudsman says the provincial government may have to consider banning retailers and other insiders from playing lottery games.
Andre Marin says he's giving the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation six months to show that it can stop "rampant fraud" by dishonest lottery insiders.
If the gaming agency can't do that, Marin says he will recommend the government ban insiders from playing.
Marin says it's not a "God-given right" to play the lottery and if dishonest insiders can't control their itchy fingers, then they shouldn't be allowed to play.
His comments come on the heels of a report that lottery insiders in Ontario hit jackpots totalling $198 million over the past 13 years.
Marin says he was stunned by the "astronomical" sum the report uncovered, but adds that it doesn't give the OLG a "clean bill of health."
The OLG has been trying to rebuild and enhance security since Marin accused unscrupulous retailers of collecting tens of millions of dollars in "dishonest" winnings -- and OLG of letting them get away with it.
