Lottery error leads to CAD1.1m windfall for Canadian gamblers

gamblers in the Canadian province of British Columbia received an unexpected share of CAD1.1m after an error by the British Columbia Lottery Corps (BCLC).

The BCLC discovered the error in the progressive jackpot bonus feature of its Wizard of Odds slot game, which “prevented the proper signalling of a jackpot win”, according to a statement released by the corporation on Wednesday 8 July.

Retroactive payments of a combined CAD1.1m will be made to the nine players affected, while the BCLC has removed the Wizard of Odds game from its PlayNow website as of Wednesday 10 June.

The BCLC will also reimburse any other players who played the game and experienced a loss between 16 July 2014 and 10 June 2015.

The lottery corporation said: “We apologise for the error and recognise the inconvenience to players.

“PlayNow.com is providing an ex gratia payment as a customer service gesture to players who played the Wizard of Odds over the 11 months between July 16 2014 to June 10 2015. If a player experienced a net loss, BCLC will refund the amount of the net loss.”

The corporation is undertaking a review to prevent similar occurrences in the future.