Coronavirus: Ontario Lottery and Gaming closes lotto centre, only prizes up to $10K might be redeemed

As the province continues to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has announced it closed its lotto prize centre.

The agency said the centre, located in downtown Toronto, was closed to the public Tuesday evening on the advice of public health officials. It’s not clear when the centre will reopen.

“The health and safety of customers and employees is a priority for OLG,” a statement released Tuesday evening said.

READ MORE: OLG closing all casinos across Ontario as precautionary measure

For customers who have prizes up to $990.90, they can continue to redeem at one of the approximately 10,000 lottery outlets across Ontario. For those who have prizes up to $9,990.90, they can call 1-800-387-0098 or visit olg.ca.

However, for those who have prizes of $10,000 or higher, they will have to wait until the OLG prize centre reopens.

“In the meantime, we can assure our valued customers that all lottery prizes will be redeemed per their terms and conditions on OLG.ca,” the statement said.

“We are looking at extending the 12-month time period for the redemption of lottery products sold through lottery terminals and PlayOLG.ca.”

The rules surrounding winnings from PlayOLG.ca are a bit different. Prizes up to $999.90 will be credited to the player’s account. For prizes between $1,000 and $99,999.90, the player’s account will be credited or OLG will call to advise on what happens next. For prizes of $100,000 or more, a prize claim declaration form needs to be sent in and will be processed after the OLG Prize Centre reopens.

The move by OLG comes two days after the organization temporarily closed casinos across Ontario in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Tuesday evening, there were 189 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario.