ALC on hot seat over lotto wins by retailers

Officials from the Atlantic Lottery Corp. fielded a series of tough questions Wednesday from a Nova Scotia legislative committee about measures taken to ensure the integrity of its games.

Corporation officials were called to explain to the public accounts committee why retailers won big prizes at rates up to 19 times more than should have been expected.

Corporation CEO Michelle Carinci said thatwhile she can't explain the statistics, steps have been taken to protect customers and that complaints are investigated.

Carinci also admitted that the procurement process wasn't transparent enough in the awarding of a recent internet gaming contract to Swedish company Boss Media.

But she defended the decision to select the company without the "charade of putting out a tender" because of internal due diligence and strict requirements that eliminated several companies that weren't government regulated.

An Ontario-based company, Parlay Entertainment (TSXV:PEI), is calling for more accountability within the corporation because of how the contract was awarded.