OLG Issues Recall After Glitch Spoils 92 Lottery Tickets

Attention lottery players: check your tickets – but not for a winner. You may be holding a bogus entry that can’t win a prize.

It’s not a huge amount of tickets but there’s another new controversy surrounding the beleaguered Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The OLG has been forced to issue a public notice about a recall of 92 tickets sold over a wide area of the province. The reason? They have the wrong date on them.

The ducats in question centre on a series of the organization’s most popular lotteries, including 52 from Super 7, Lotto 6/49, Lottario and Payday, and another 40 from Pick 3, Daily Keno and Pick 4.

The first batch was scheduled to be drawn between Wednesday and Saturday. The latter three were picked on Monday and all the entries were purchased between 2pm and 5pm at 41 outlets around Ontario – including the GTA.

The affected areas locally include Toronto, Milton, Oakville, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Hamilton.

What happened? “During routine, scheduled computer server maintenance, an error in the testing process caused the wrong draw date to be printed on 92 of 563,639 tickets sold,” a statement explains. “These 92 tickets are null and void.”

Anyone trying to claim a prize on the tickets will cause the lottery terminal to freeze, prompting a response from an OLG rep. The tickets in question are listed below, and the Corporation will issue a replacement or a refund.

It’s not the first time this kind of controversy has plagued the organization in charge of Ontario’s games of chance.

Back in January, a Brampton steelworker ignited huge controversy when he thought he’d won $135,000 on some misprinted Fruit Smash cards. Thomas Noftall eventually received an undisclosed settlement for the error, and declared himself satisfied, indicating he wasn’t a winner.

In December 2007, the OLG paid four people more than $1.4 million each after a Mississauga vendor allegedly claimed the jackpot for himself three years earlier. The Corporation aided the OPP in the probe.

And an Ontario Ombudsman’s 2006 report about lottery retailers claiming more than their fair share of prizes put the original black eye on the Corporation, which was forced to usher in a new set of rules to protect consumers.

While many still play, others say they no longer trust the integrity of the system and have refused to take part in any of the draws.

And just last month, the OLG came under criticism from Deputy Premier George Smitherman after the group chose to give away 22 Mercedes Benz cars as casino prizes, even as the domestic auto industry struggles to survive in Ontario and North America.

The OLG insists this latest incident is a rare glitch, noting it’s done the responsible thing by immediately bringing it to the public’s attention.

A spokesperson tells CityNews.ca none of the tickets already drawn were winners.

Recalled/Void Tickets And Where They Were Purchased

The number is a 22-digit figure located in the middle of the ticket just above the signature line.

    City                               Ticket Control Number                    Product
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-0220-0838-1391-64793          Keno
    RICHMOND HILL         11112-5589-7858-0932-64082          Lottario
    ETOBICOKE             11112-6356-1735-0993-26435          Lottario
    TORONTO               11112-0659-0467-0696-52182          Lotto 6/49
    KITCHENER             11112-0665-6003-0632-01001          Lotto 6/49
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-1629-0566-0678-28041          Lotto 6/49
    NEW LISKEARD          11112-1635-5846-0687-52166          Lotto 6/49
    BELLEVILLE            11112-1925-0435-0676-19978          Lotto 6/49
    NIAGARA FALLS         11112-2160-9474-0685-45426          Lotto 6/49
    MILTON                11112-2337-8947-0694-55577          Lotto 6/49
    OAKVILLE              11112-2344-4483-0630-31094          Lotto 6/49
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-2344-5251-0605-65174          Lotto 6/49
    SUDBURY               11112-2658-7399-0653-32186          Lotto 6/49
    LANCASTER             11112-3071-8983-0668-58172          Lotto 6/49
    NIAGARA FALLS         11112-3307-8790-0652-26513          Lotto 6/49
    OSHAWA                11112-3419-5458-0616-26790          Lotto 6/49
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-3432-7554-0681-55560          Lotto 6/49
    NORTH YORK            11112-3832-4994-0633-63219          Lotto 6/49
    TORONTO               11112-3839-0274-0642-23105          Lotto 6/49
    HAMILTON              11112-4015-9235-0603-48400          Lotto 6/49
    TORONTO               11112-4022-4771-0636-10908          Lotto 6/49
    OSHAWA                11112-4331-4183-0687-43234          Lotto 6/49
    NORTH YORK            11112-4573-0054-0689-04997          Lotto 6/49
    KENORA                11112-5274-9827-0675-58754          Lotto 6/49
    HAMILTON              11112-5281-4851-0660-59815          Lotto 6/49
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-5700-9923-0613-38517          Lotto 6/49
    HAMILTON              11112-6008-9351-0601-06003          Lotto 6/49
    SUDBURY               11112-6264-4998-0612-03317          Lotto 6/49
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-6428-3655-0676-54207          Lotto 6/49
    NORTH BAY             11112-6434-9959-0684-22394          Lotto 6/49
    LONDON                11112-6663-4502-0693-48202          Lotto 6/49
    TORONTO               11112-1484-8515-0440-50471          Ontario 49
    NORTH YORK            11112-5576-4487-0411-23451          Ontario 49
    ARTHUR                11112-6703-5394-2035-45433          PayDay
    VAUGHAN               11112-0685-3383-1058-44461          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112
-0691-8919-1091-44526          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-1419-3411-1007-62551          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-1425-8947-1040-30194          Pick3
    MILTON                11112-2862-2082-1039-59678          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-4042-2151-1062-32154          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-4048-7687-1095-12515          Pick3
    TORONTO               11112-4546-7906-1078-37615          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-4776-2179-1011-47893          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-4782-7715-1044-41055          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-5307-7767-1022-23505          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-6041-7795-1068-54580          Pick3
    VAUGHAN               11112-0030-0290-2507-41311          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-0266-0099-2570-28081          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-0455-9874-2591-34312          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-0685-4403-2548-53835          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-0691-9939-2581-08623          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-1000-0135-2544-41644          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-1006-4903-2505-36749          Pick4
    LONGLAC               11112-1183-6422-2530-39642          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-1190-0166-2589-51517          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-1715-2002-2516-43460          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-2134-6306-2591-59185          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-2364-0835-2548-34707          Pick4
    TORONTO               11112-2678-6055-2593-13651          Pick4
    TORONTO               11112-2862-1318-2580-51042          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-2868-7110-2540-64216          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-3098-0871-2522-55216          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-3288-1414-2518-56076          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-3393-4338-2520-33352          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-3393-5106-2592-40499          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-4540-3142-2536-20752          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-5071-6930-2548-00439          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-5491-1746-2574-00891          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-5727-1043-2589-65014          Pick4
    TORONTO               11112-6035-0727-2504-02891          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-6225-1014-2573-58095          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-6637-9782-2518-05419          Pick4
    VAUGHAN               11112-6644-6086-2526-40821          Pick4
    NEW LISKEARD          11112-0993-3319-0839-53026          Super 7
    ETOBICOKE             11112-1918-1827-0840-19058          Super 7
    SUDBURY               11112-1931-6227-0830-06234          Super 7
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-1931-6483-0854-22141          Super 7
    ETOBICOKE             11112-2166-5538-0800-24368          Super 7
    ETOBICOKE             11112-2173-1074-0833-38941          Super 7
    TORONTO               11112-2665-6263-0804-29014          Super 7
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-2901-5046-0886-50326          Super 7
    GEORGETOWN            11112-3090-7143-0848-21051          Super 7
    ETOBICOKE             11112-3319-9878-0849-56506          Super 7
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-3596-4931-0819-52404          Super 7
    ETOBICOKE             11112-3852-0834-0854-36432          Super 7
    LINDSAY               11112-4350-2087-0843-23846          Super 7
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-4350-2343-0867-39992          Super 7
    HAMILTON              11112-5524-0450-0895-25152          Super 7
    PENETANGUISHENE       11112-5713-1011-0810-14501          Super 7
    NORTH YORK            11112-6009-0375-0891-05320          Super 7
    MISSISSAUGA           11112-6257-9718-0894-02258          Super 7
    KENORA                11112-6441-5239-0887-38413          Super 7

Source: OLG