The B.C. Lottery Corp. has been in the news a lot lately, and none of the story's have been positive. First, the corporation launched an online casino only to shut it down a few hours later because of a security breach.

Now, the B.C. Lottery Corp. is tangled in a messy lawsuit brought on by one of its former customers. Mike Lee is suing B.C. for the right to the $42,500 jackpot he won while playing slots at Chances Cowichan. Lee had registered on the casino's self-exclusion list.

The program is designed to stop problem gamblers from being allowed on the premises. If casino employees see Lee at the facility, he can be kicked out and also fined. Lee's lawyer, however, claims that the gambler had won several smaller jackpots and the casino never kicked him out of kept the winnings.

"If they are going to offer support to people and not provide the support offered, then it seems unconscionable to allow the casino, only at the time that people win the jackpot, to deny them," said Lee's Attorney, Joshua Weiszner, as reported by The Montreal Gazette.

Weiszner is asserting that the casino turned the other way while Lee was losing money and winning small jackpots, but kept the large jackpot winnings. The casino claims that all money kept from a jackpot won by a self-excluded gambler goes towards gambling-related research.

The courts may have a difficult time breaking down this case. In 2009, the rules of the self-exclusion program changed to allow the B.C. Lottery Corp. to keep the winnings of a person on the self-exclusion list. Lee, however, had signed his agreement and entered the program three years earlier.

July 31, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com