Lottery ticket purveyors are speaking out after being punished following a sting operation that resulted in a staff member selling a ticket to a minor.
The Canadian Tire Gas Bar, Bon Voyage Esso and Jolly Market Foods each received a 30-day suspension. And Eastside Esso's license was permanently suspended for multiple violations.
Eastside Esso owner Pat Patel said one of his staff sold the ticket to a minor who was working as an agent for the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch.
"Last year it was in June - I was the one who got nailed. It got busy and I missed someone. This time it was one of [my staff]," Patel said.
"The whole system is not right. A person who drinks and drives gets a three-month suspension, or a year, and gets their license back. A guy who sells a lottery ticket to a minor loses his license for life. It's mind-boggling."
Patel said he was initially given a $288 fine and a 45-day suspension. However, later a B.C. Lottery Corp. representative came are removed all his lottery equipment.
"I can't do anything. I don't have the resources they do to fight this in court," he said. "It will have an impact on the business - there is no doubt. [But] it'll take six months to figure it out."
Canadian Tire Gas Bar manager Cindy Tucker said one of her staff sold the ticket to the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch agent as well.
"In my opinion, we're very diligent," Tucker said. "When I reviewed the [surveillance] tape, I probably wouldn't have asked her for ID myself. It's supposed to be at our discretion."
Lottery retailers are supposed to ask for ID if the customer doesn't appear to be 19 years old, she said. The law does not require lotto retailers to ID every customer.
"I'm very frustrated by the whole thing," Tuckers said. "The law is not that I'm supposed to be responsible for other people's kids."
The gas bar gets 700 to 900 customers a day, she said, and when it's busy, mistakes can happen.
Tucker said the 30-day suspension is more of an inconvenience to her customers than a cost to the business. Lottery ticket retailers only receive a five per cent margin on lotto ticket sales, she said.
The gas bar sold approximately $20,000 in lotto tickets last month, Tucker said.
"I'd rather forgo my five per cent than have a suspension," she said. "My customers are being inconvenienced. Fortunately, we have awesome regular customers. One lady came in and when I told her... she said she just wouldn't buy any lottery tickets until we could sell them again."
In a written statement, B.C. Lottery Corporation spokesperson Seumas Gordon said the Crown corporation considers underage gambling a serious matter.
"It is not acceptable for retailers to sell lottery tickets to minors," Gordon said. "The retailers were found in violation of both the Gaming Control Act and the Lottery Operations Agreement. BCLC takes this matter seriously and is committed to working with our retailer partners to help them understand the important role they play in enforcing the 19+ age restriction for lottery products."
A spokesperson for the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch said the undercover operation was conducted on June 28. Such investigations are routine and suspensions typically last 30 to 45 days.
All staff at the three locations that received temporary suspensions will be retrained by the branch prior to the end of the suspensions.
No one was available for comment at Jolly Market Foods or Bon Voyage Esso, however staff confirmed the stores had temporary lost their lottery licenses.
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