Should The OLG Pay For Its Mistake? Here’s What You Had To Say

Few stories have drawn the kind of passionate response as this one. Dozens of you wrote in to tell us what you think about the OLG’s decision not to honour winnings from misprinted tickets. The story came to light after one of those ‘winners,’ 27-year-old Brampton man Thomas Noftall, expressed his frustration with the lottery corporation for refusing to pay for their error.

Here’s a sampling of what CityNews viewers had to say (some comments edited for content and length):

I definitely think the OLG should pay up. Imagine the excitement of scratching a winning ticket to only be told later that “sorry we made a mistake”? Too bad about your mistake OLG, but that winning ticket(s) that you produced for sale sold and now you must pay. If I had one of those winning tickets I would already have my lawyer involved. Have patience legitimate winners, the courts will make them pay up!!
 
Nicole

The OLG is selling a product, any other business, without hesitation would honour a mispriced or misadvertised product, learn from their mistake and absorb the loss. OLG PAY the “winners”, it is YOUR mistake.

Richard

Should the OLG pay? Definitely they should pay. The OLG is owned by the Government and this is why they have such an attitude. The Government knows the average Joe does not have the money and time to take the government to court.  When I go to a grocery store or a Dept. store and they publish a price for an item, that is the price you pay even though it may be an error, so why does the Government think they can get away with it?  The person who won from the four tickets had honestly thought he won and then he is told by the OLG “sorry we made a printing error and we will not pay you”.  VERY UNFAIR!

Nadia Abderrahman

In regards to the OLG’s refusal to pay prize money to Mr. Noftall and others, due to “misprinted” tickets, I feel that they should be required to.
 
It is the OLG’s fault for not ensuring quality before delivering the tickets. If a company misprints their advertisements, they must honour the promises made in said ad. I feel that this is the same principle. Is this the beginning of a new trend, in which the OLG will regularly find excuses to not pay the winners? As far as I am concerned, this is fraud on the part of the OLG.
 
I feel terrible for the affected winners; the excitement at winning must have been wonderful, only to find out that they were cheated.
 
Matthew

I believe the Ontario lottery commision has the right to deny FULL payment of the misprinted tickets but compensation should be paid without question to all parties involved for the mental anguish and possible financial strains such a simple erroneus printing problem could have caused.

Let me explain. If a man/woman had realized a large win they may have quickly made a rash decision financially that could be detrimental to the survival of that said family. Simply put, they may have spent money they really didn’t have to spare on something as simple as large repair bills (car etc.) or simply topping up a furnace oil tank for $500 to $1,000.

Recovery for many families needing to buy medication, food, pay high utility bills and pay rent on very limited incomes can be incredibly draining when there is other unexpected monthly expenses; something’s gotta give and if the money needed for any of the above is allocated elsewhere it could be distastrous to the point of losing their home. 

I know it is foolish for someone to spend money before it is in hand. We are human by nature and we may not always make the right decision. Simply for that reason alone I believe the lottery commission should be responsible for a small 1 time payment of some sort to each of the families involved.
 
Gary

The OLG should do the right thing and pay up. Having said that, I don’t think the OLG would spot the “right thing” if it bit them on the arse.
 
Robert Laszcz

Yes, the Ontario Lottery Corp made the error not the buyer who bought the product in good faith. I don’t think the “winners” need to get furious, what they need is a good lawyer.

Russ Crossley

The OLG should pay up! If a seller who accidentally sold his yacht for under fifty dollars on eBay had to go through with the sale by law, why shouldn’t the OLG have to pay? It was the OLG’s mistake, and the OLG should honour these winning tickets, or be prepared for possible legal action, and a tarnished reputation.

Laura

I think the OLG should be obligated to pay out the tickets. A recall is not an excuse.  I can compare this to an automaker. Just because they recall a vehicle due to safety issues, they are not exempt if a person is injured after the recall is issued.
 
Basically they have screwed up and are backpedaling now. There had been no mention of this “misprint” prior to these winners attempting to claim. If they had issued a public warning it may have been more acceptable to understand their position.
 
Tammie

As much money as the OLG pulls in, they should pay this out and save face. If anything it is a lesson to them (OLG) to do things properly. There is nothing on the back of the tickets regarding errors. They should pay it out. I would fight it (in) court all the way until I do my happy dance (paid in full). End of story.
 
Jerry

LOTTERY TICKETS ARE A SCAM IF U ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO BUY A TICKET THAN SUFFER THE LOSS PERIOD.

Bertrude

Yes they should pay up for the sake of honesty . Even stores that make an error at the cash register, compensate for their error. The only time you hear of a Scratch and Win winner is when there is a mistake.
 
If the OLG made another printing error that resulted in no winning tickets would they inform the public and recall before they bought? It seems your odds are now based, not on the number of tickets printed, but on the whim of the OLG.
 
There should be a lottery law that states if there is a printing error, it is their error and as such they are responsible for payouts. I have never won a lottery but the feelings that winner, then loser must be feeling would be devastating to anyone.
 
Their error, they lost, accept responsibility, pay up, get their printing corrected and again restore confidence.
 
P Cody

OLG should pay up….The winners bought their $3 ticket in hopes of winning; that is why people play.  They paid their money.  If OLG made a mistake that is their error and should pay the winners.  I would strongly recommend to the people that if the OLG doesn’t ante up with the winnings, then everyone should protest and not buy any scratch tickets at all.  Who is to say that they won’t pull this stunt again? 

I know I will NEVER buy a scratch ticket again….what for?

Simone

I believe that the OLG should pay the winnings to those people who received misprinted tickets. In my previous experience, if a business makes a mistake then the right thing to do is honour that mistake – this applies to everything from grocery stores to cellphone companies.

The OLG makes millions of dollars and they refuse to own up to the fact that this was their error? The right thing to do is to pay out those tickets and perhaps work a little harder at making sure that the mistakes don’t happen in the first place.

Carrie Roy

This should be paid to Mr Noftall.

The stats are 3 million tickets were issued at 3 bucks a pop, and only 9 major prizes: 3 each of 75K, 25 K, and 10 K. A total of 330K. The odds of winning are 1 in a million, not odds in anyone’s favour other than OLG.

The lesson is that of any other business: quality control. Make sure it’s good before it goes out the door, or the product comes back to haunt the producer. The product is the chance to win the big prize. OLG has made a huge public relations gaffe, again .
 
 Sandra Reed

If the policy of the OLG is to refund the ticket price or provide a new ticket, then that’s all they should be required to do.

To all those “winners” (or as I like to call them, “whiners”), you didn’t win. Case closed. You’re getting your money back or a free ticket which is more than other people get for non-winning tickets. I think the problem here is that there’s a false sense of entitlement. Look at it this way, if you were at the race track, and your horse was declared the winner, but then the decision was reversed because of a photo finish, would you sue? Of course not.

So, to anyone planning on suing the OLG to get money from losing lottery tickets… get a life and stop wasting court time.

Name withheld

Yes the OLG should have to pay up. It’s their job to ensure that scratch and win tickets that are offered for sale are correct. These tickets should be checked and triple checked for accuracy before being made available.

By making them available for purchase, they are saying that the tickets are valid and any winnings will be paid out. It’s the OLG’s fault and they should pay up. We’re talking a big deal here, people get excited when they win the lottery, especially such big amounts and the lottery corporation shouldn’t be allowed to say “Oops! Too Bad, So Sad.”
 
Andrea Klassen