$50 million, 2-year lottery dispute ends

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TORONTO, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A 2-year-old $50 million pooled lottery jackpot dispute in Toronto has ended in favor only of 19 workers who had paid to play that particular draw.

The dispute began with the Dec. 31, 2010, Canada-wide Lotto Max draw, in which 17 women and two men who worked together at a Bell Canada call center matched all seven numbers.

The group known as "the Bell 19" each paid $20 a month for the weekly draws.

After the news broke of the win, nine other workers at the Toronto east end company claimed they were entitled to a cut of the prize as former players in the group pool.

That led the Ontario Lottery Corp. to freeze the winnings, the Toronto Star reported.

Lawyer Saul Glober represented the group who claimed the prize, and described the binding arbitration ruling Monday as simple and accurate.

"If you pay you're in," he said. "If we bought a ticket together last March and I win [with another ticket] in December, you can't say because we were together in March, I'm a lifetime partner."