Law Commons^™

The Slings And Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune: Can You 'Lose' The Lottery But Still Win?, Mary J. Shariff, Darcy L. Macpherson

Mary J. Shariff

This article discusses potential legal arguments that can be made for a lottery player in a seemingly hopeless situation: buying a winning lottery ticket immediately before the deadline, only to find out that the ticket was mistakenly dated for the next week’s draw. Although the lottery rules and regulations and the courts’ interpretation thereof are strongly slanted against lottery players, the authors nevertheless argue that a consistent and coherent application of traditional contact law principles could favor the claimant. They note that Canadian courts have rarely been consistent in their application of contract law to lottery situations, with courts sometimes …