Loto Quebec Faces Lawsuit Over Number Randomness
Loto Quebec faces a lawsuit by two lottery enthusiasts who feel that they have been cheated by the corporation.
Michael Amar and Rajib Ullah, both from Montreal, believe that the 'extra' option on certain Loto Quebec lottery tickets give players absolutely no chance of ever winning, thus removing the claim of completely randomness of numbers.
Last year, the players noticed that each time they purchased more than two 'extra' numbers on their lottery tickets, the first row of numbers and the last row did not duplicate.
They decided to put their theory that some types of Loto Quebec tickets have been fixed to the test .and went to several stores, purchasing dozens of tickets. Their results were always the same.
Amar asked: "Why is Loto Quebec selling numbers that have no chance to win?" They're using an amalgarithm that is called a 'lockout mechanism'.
"It's a lottery company that is selling losing numbers," said Ullah.
Suing for $10 million each
The friends have decided to sue Loto Quebec for $10 million in punitive damages and they are so confident that they have a case that they will appear in court this month, representing themselves.
According to the pair, they consulted a mathematician and were told that the chances of the 'extras' hitting on certain tickets were only 186 billion to one. They claim in their lawsuit that the extra combination was "designed to remove the randomness factor which is both the trademark of fairness and a fundamental characteristic" of lotteries.
The lawsuit also compares Loto Quebec's Extra with the OLGC's Encore lottery and pointes out the differences.
Naturally, Loto Quebec is contesting these claims. Extra is considered the third most popular lottery in the province and generates annual sales of $144 million.
