AUDITOR CHOSEN FOR LOTTERY REVIEW

VICTORIA - The firm Deloitte & Touche LLP has been chosen to review the retail lottery system in British Columbia and make recommendations to enhance the overall integrity and transparency of gaming activities in B.C.

B.C.'s ombudsman recently released a report which was critical of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation's (BCLC) retailer lottery winnings and prize validation procedures, as well as the oversight provided by the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB). While government has accepted and will be implementing all 27 recommendations from the report, Solicitor General John Les also ordered an independent and comprehensive audit of the BCLC lottery system and GPEB.

Deloitte & Touche LLP are a well known firm with broad background and experience in all aspects of forensic audits. They have also conducted other reviews of gaming processes.
In choosing an independent auditor, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General consulted with the comptroller general, Ministry of Finance for a list of recommended firms.

It is expected that Deloitte & Touche LLP will submit their report on B.C.'s lottery retailer system to government by the end of October.


Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General

TERMS OF REFERENCE
Independent audit of retail lottery system

British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC)
* To review in detail the lottery prize validation and payout procedures of BCLC, including, but not limited to:
* Retailer validation procedures
* Monitoring of retailer play and win rates
* Customer complaint tracking and investigation and resolution procedures.
* To review BCLC's action plan in response to the ombudsman's report and provide an assessment of it.
* To provide recommendations on further actions that could be taken, including a recommended timeframe and expected outcomes.
* To review and make recommendations on the reporting of activities, including prize validation and security investigations, to GPEB.
* To provide recommendations that will serve to enhance the fairness, integrity, transparency, security and customer service of the lottery system and prize validation procedures.
* To review other business and program functions with respect to BCLC and make recommendations to enhance the integrity and transparency of all gaming activities conducted by BCLC and overseen by GPEB.

Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) * To review the GPEB's regulation of BCLC's lottery prize validation and
payout procedures, including detailed investigations, and make recommendations for areas of improvement.
* To review GPEB's action plan in response to the ombudsman's report and provide an assessment of it.
* To provide recommendations on further actions that could be taken, including a recommended timeframe and expected outcomes.
* To provide recommendations that will serve to enhance the integrity and oversight of the lottery system in British Columbia.
* To review other business and program functions with respect to GPEB and make recommendations to enhance the integrity, accountability, transparency, and oversight of all gaming activities in British Columbia.