Public Lotteries

On 1 April 2010 the former Minister for Gaming and Racing granted a 40 year exclusive licence to New South Wales Lotteries Corporation Pty Limited (the Licensee) to operate NSW Lotteries.

It was determined that the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing would be responsible for the on-going regulation of public lotteries in New South Wales.

The decision to grant a 40 year licence to a private operator was made following the completion of a strategic review. This review provided the opportunity to establish a number of reforms to the regulatory framework for public lotteries in order to:

facilitate the grant of an exclusive operator licence, as well as the grant of product licences for specific lottery games;
provide for oversight of the Licensee’s ongoing compliance with the terms of the operator licence and the product licences; and
ensure generally that public lotteries in NSW continue to be operated in a responsible and orderly manner.

It is important to note that the new regulatory regime that was implemented will ensure the protection of community interests and of consumers, and promote harm minimisation objectives and facilitate innovation and growth for the benefit of the entire community of NSW.

The key elements of the public lotteries compliance strategy includes:

Audits and Inspections: undertake inspections of technology and equipment. Review and investigate complaints from the public in relation to the conduct of public lotteries;
Reconciliation of Duties Paid: undertake monthly reconciliations of the general duties paid by the Licensee to the Treasurer;
Supervision of Draws: attend lotto and lotto strike draws to supervise the draw process at Channel 9;
Key Employees: undertake probity checks of new key employees;
Controlled Contracts: review new controlled contracts, or material changes to existing controlled contracts;
Inspection of Equipment: supervise the maintenance of the ball drawing devices for lotto and the weighing and measuring of the lotto balls.

Complaints

The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) has powers to investigate disputes between NSW Lotteries and customers over the non payment of valid prizes.

All claims for prizes should be made with NSW Lotteries in the first instance. Please see the following links which may be of assistance:

claiming of prizes - http://www.nswlotteries.com.au/claiming-prizes

complaints handling - http://www.nswlotteries.com.au/complaint_handling_charter

players 1st - http://www.nswlotteries.com.au/playersfirst

If your claim for a valid prize has been rejected by NSW Lotteries and you would like an independent review of the decision, please contact:

Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing,
Level 6, 323 Castlereagh Street, Haymarket NSW 2001.
GPO Box 7060, SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email: complaints@olgr.nsw.gov.au
Telephone (02) 9995 0837

It should be noted that it is an offence for a person to lodge a claim for a prize they know is false or misleading.