The B.C. Lottery Corporation has a new logo and a new name, but the NDP says the money spent coming up with the branding could have been better spent on security.
The Crown corporation will now be known by its acronym, BCLC, and its new logo features the name in lower-case letters with coloured dots within the b and two c's. Below the logo is the phrase: "playing it right.''
The corporation says the changes, which are costing $430,000, reflect a business that has expanded far beyond just lotteries.
But the Opposition New Democrats say the money should have been spent on improving security.
The corporation came under scrutiny last year after ombudsman Kim Carter released a report that found the public was in danger of being ripped off by retailers and their employees.
NDP critic Harry Lali says the logo and name changes do nothing to address the problems at the corporation.
"It does leave me scratching my head,'' says Lali.
"Given all the kerfuffle that has taken place at B.C. lottos over the last couple of years, that they would turn around and just change its brand and it's going to cost the tax payers nearly half a million dollars.''
The corporation announced a number of measures last summer designed to improve security and public confidence in the lottery system.
The new measures, which also followed a provincial audit that found "a lock of followup on concerns,'' included:
_ Requiring lottery retailers claiming prizes of $1,000 or more to collect their winnings in person at lottery offices in Richmond or Kamloops.
_ The creation of a retailing database to track whether winners are also lottery retailers.
_ Requiring all winners of prizes of more than $1,000 to be interviewed by both the corporation's prize payout staff and corporate security investigators. 18:59ET 12-08-08
