[12] However, threatened with the closure of numerous tracks, the Ontario government extended the plan while it determined its future direction in gaming facilities.

[13] The minimum age to purchase OLG lottery tickets is 18; however, for patronizing casinos and/or parimutuel facilities in the province, it is 19.

Violators who sell OLG lottery tickets to anyone under the age of 18 can face significant fines under the legislation passed in 1997.

On October 25, 2006, the CBC program The Fifth Estate aired an investigative report on lottery retailers winning major prizes, focusing on the ordeal of 82-year-old Bob Edmonds.

[15] In another case, Toronto variety store owner Hafiz Malik had defrauded four school board employees out of their $5.7 million prize.

The OPP seized or froze over $5-million of Malik's assets, including bank accounts, three cars, and a home in Mississauga.

It was the largest recall ever of a lottery ticket in Canada, and were prompted in part from greater media scrutiny regarding ongoing fraud investigations.

OLG has since reached an undisclosed settlement with a 27-year-old Thomas Noftall from Brampton, Ontario, who was mistakenly told that he might have won $135,000 on a misprinted lottery ticket.

An image of a winning symbol combination was shown quickly before or during the simulated spinning of the slot machine reels.

[citation needed] In the wake of these controversies, the provincial government ordered Duncan Brown to be relieved of his position as OLG chief on 21 March 2007.

Marin criticized the OLG for being more fixated on profits than the integrity of games after a disproportionate number of lottery retailers or their families claimed winning tickets.

An investigation conducted by the CBC's The Fifth Estate (TV series) in late 2017 led to concerns as to whether the program is effective.

[21] According to a CBC article, "Gambling addicts ... said that while on the ... self-exclusion list, they entered OLG properties on a regular basis" in spite of the facial recognition technology in place at the casinos.

As well, a CBC journalist who tested the system found that he was able to enter casinos and gamble on four distinct occasions, in spite of being registered and photographed for the program.

[23] Some experts maintain that casinos, in general, arrange for self-exclusion programs as a public relations measure without actually helping those with problem gambling issues.

A campaign of this type "deflects attention away from problematic products and industries," according to Natasha Dow Schull, a cultural anthropologist at New York University and author of the book Addiction by Design.

"If you attempt to re-enter a gaming facility in Ontario, your image may be captured by cameras and you may be automatically detected by security.