A Brampton man who was initially denied thousands in winnings from a misprinted lottery ticket says he has reached a settlement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. 

Thomas Noftall, 27, and his lawyer Bryan McPhadden are not disclosing the terms of the agreement, which comes a day after the OLG said it would not pay out winnings to people who purchased tickets from a misprinted batch.

After spending much of Tuesday railing to the media about the OLG's failure to make good on their mistake, Noftall's tune changed significantly after the settlement was reached.

"I did find out I am in possession of misprint tickets and not winning tickets," he said. "I understand the rules now and I have come to the conclusion that I didn't win... I will keep control of my emotions next time and make sure the facts are clear."

His lawyer said that if a monetary settlement had been reached, Noftall would not be at liberty to discuss how much money he had received.

After appearing to win on four separate tickets, Noftall -- who works night shifts as a steel worker -- believed he had won $135,000. He had planned to move his family -- including three kids -- out of their basement apartment.

By Wednesday, 15 people had come forward with misprinted Fruit Smash scratch-and-win tickets claiming to be winners.

The OLG confirmed to CP24 that at least 1,000 Fruit Scratch tickets have been recalled because of a printing problem. Up to 150 of the defective tickets were purchased at eight stores across Southern Ontario before they were recalled late last week.

OLG says Noftall's situation 'unique'

However, the head of the OLG told reporters at a press conference that other players who purchased misprinted tickets would not be paid out.

CEO Kelly McDougald said a settlement was reached with Noftall because he had been told he would be paid out when he first called the organization.

"His situation is unique," she said. "We have record that we misinformed him... A review of calls that have come into our contact centre show there have been no other errors."

She said the OLG and the ticket printing company have a meeting scheduled for Thursday in an effort to improve quality assurance.

The corporation says they noticed a problem last Friday after receiving a number of complaints about the tickets. The OLG recalled the tickets, but says it doesn't know how many are still in stores or have already been sold.

One of the latest victims is Sylvia Randle, a 48-year-old Bellville woman. An avid purchaser of scratch lottery tickets, she tells CP24.com she bought her ticket on New Year's Eve and was elated to see she had won $151,123.

Then she realized that underneath the top layer -- which displayed the winning pictures -- there was another layer bearing different symbols.

"It's their mistake," says Randle. "We're buying (the tickets) in good faith and following the rules they're stating. I'd like to see them come good for it."

The tickets are sold for $3, and average prize money on a winning ticket is between $3 and $10, she says.

The OLG has offered these tips for determining whether tickets are real:

  • Have the tickets scanned by a lottery retail kiosk. If the barcode says the ticket is a winner, it will be honoured.
  • Call the OLG at 1-800-387-0098 and send a photocopy of the ticket to the organization.

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