scratch cardsCBC News reported yesterday the Gambling Watch Network filed a letter with Ontario’s ombudsman complaining scratch tickets are sold even after the top prizes have been won.

Ontario media reported that a national gambling watchdog group has claimed that current scratch card sale practices are unfair and misleading to the consumer. “People go on purchasing those tickets although they have no chance of winning, and it seems to us that this is a breach of the understanding one has in buying a ticket,” a group’s spokesman said.

This practice has been the subject of scrutiny and lawsuits in the United States, causing some state lotteries to include disclaimers on the tickets explaining that some prizes may already be won. Then they tell us that online poker is illegal.

A spokesman for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation said players can call a toll-free number printed on the back of each scratch and win ticket to find out which prizes are still available to be won. Ridiculous, what is the point, isn’t it called Instant Lottery?