6-Oct-09. Latvia federation bans team for gambling. Globe and Mail, S3.

Latvia’s soccer federation has banned Dinaburg FC for the rest of the season after receiving information that the general manager and head coach were betting on the team’s matches.

15-Sep-09. Lottery ticket sellers face partial ban. Globe and Mail, A14.

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin says Ontario’s lottery security system will be the most rigorous in Canada once retailers are banned from buying lottery tickets at their own stores. Beginning in November, retailers will have to observe the limited ban, which follows an audit of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Association in February of 2008 that exposed $198-million in insider wins since 1996.

23-Mar-09. Social costs of gambling grow as economy softens. Calgary Herald, A3.

According to the provincial budget, the amount of money being gambled in Alberta is slowing down, but those who treat problem gamblers say there has been no drop off in the problems they see. As the economy softens and people lose their jobs, professionals who work with problem gamblers suspect the situation will get worse for those experiencing difficulties with VLTs, slots and blackjack. Robert Williams of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute says that it unknown which groups of gamblers have reduced their spending. He indicates that a study that took place last year showed the prevalence of gambling problems was in decline. In Calgary, defence lawyers say they are regularly seeing cases related to gambling addictions before the courts.

6-Feb-09. Ombudsman considers ban on lottery insiders. Globe and Mail, A10.

Ontario’s Ombudsman Andre Marin warned that, if the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. cannot purge “rampant fraud” from the lottery system, he will ask the corporation and the provincial government to stop ticket sellers and their families from playing altogether. Marin’s comment follow a sweeping forensic audit that revealed lottery insiders in Ontario won jackpots totalling $198-million between 1995 and 2008.

5-Feb-09. Lotto ‘insiders’ raked in millions. Calgary Herald, A11.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. said Wednesday that it has paid out more than $198-million to “insiders” – $92-million more than it had originally suspected. An auditor’s report released Wednesday found insiders claimed nearly 50,000 winning lottery tickets between 1995 and 2008. Chief executive Kelly McDougald said the discrepancy is due to the lotto company’s old definition of “insider,” which referred only to gaming corporation employees and retailers. By expanding the definition to include anyone with a name, address or telephone number similar to that of  lottery and retail employees, the auditors discovered that nearly double the estimated amount had been potentially wrongly awarded.

5-Feb-09. Lottery winnings investigated. Globe and Mail, A12.

Results of a forensic audit of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. by Deloitte & Touche has found that $198-million in prizes were claimed by lottery insiders between 1995 and 1998. Lottery officials are turning the findings over to police to see whether any winnings were fraudulent. The OLG has been trying to enhance security in recent years after the province’s Ombudsman accused uscrupulous retailers of collecting millions of dollars in “dishonest” winnings, and OLG of letting them get away with it.

5-Jun-08. Ontario fine-tunes lottery system safeguards. National Post, A8.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation instituted several new safeguards in the past two years as a result of controversy over insiders winning major lottery prizes. A review of its winners database and an ongoing forensic audit by an accounting company was the latest measure announced this week. The CBC program The Fifth Estate fought an 18-month legal battle seeking internal documents from insider win investigations, which was opposed by the lottery corporation.

31-May-08. Native policing of gambling in doubt after online cheating. National Post, A13.

The online poker website UltimateBet.com, owned by a company controlled by former Kahnawake grand chief Joe Norton, acknowledged on Thursday that insiders had altered its poker software to allow them to see the hidden cards of oppenents. In January, Absolute Poker, also owned by Tokwiro Enterprises, was fined $500,000 by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission for a similar cheating scam, which was also blamed on rogue employees.  The federal government of Canada considers the 400 or so poker and sports-betting sites operating from Kahnawake to be illegal.

14-May-08. Gambler admits to $512,000 fraud. Calgary Herald, B4.

The former controller of a Calgary auto dealership has admitted that she embezzled more than half a million dollars from her employer to feed a gambling addiction.

15-Apr-08. Lotto agency sues to recoup $5.75M jackpot. National Post, A6.

The Ontario and Lottery Gaming Corporation has retained a prominent Toronto law firm in its lawsuit against a Toronto store owner, which seeks the return of a $5.75-million jackpot as well as all legal costs. The Corporation alleges that Mr. Hafiz Malik fraudulently claimed a jackpot using a stolen ticket.