BCLC warns PlayNow users to change passwords after 'suspicious' activity

PlayNow betting page

The B.C. Lottery Corporation is urging online gamblers to update their passwords after "suspicious" activity was detected on PlayNow — the province's only legal, regulated gambling website.

In a news release Thursday, the BCLC said passwords were recently stolen from other companies' websites, which impacted a small percentage of PlayNow's account base.

On July 24, PlayNow detected an unusually high volume of traffic on the website — which turned out to be the result of "credential stuffing."

The BCLC said credential stuffing is when criminals attempt to access players' accounts by using email addresses and passwords that have previously been exposed or stolen from other companies. It works on the premise that people often use the same user ID and passwords on multiple websites.

"This is a deeply concerning incident and a cautionary tale for everyone with multiple online accounts," BCLC president and CEO Pat Davis said in the release. "Our investigation remains ongoing, and we have found no evidence that our systems have been compromised, or that player login information was stolen from our systems."

The BCLC said PlayNow has notified impacted players that their accounts had been locked due to suspicious activity and it continues to investigate the matter.

All PlayNow users are being asked to change their passwords as a precautionary measure, and to ensure they're not using the same passwords for other websites.

"Integrity and security are at the core of our business and our games," Davis added. "We are committed to continuing our ongoing evaluation and enhancement of PlayNow security controls to maintain the safety of our players' information going forward."