Elizabeth Denham, provincial privacy commissioner, has ordered the B.C. government's online gambling site, PlayNow, to remain shut down until the B.C. Lottery Corporation solves the mystery of what caused a controversial "computer glitch," known as a "data crossover," which seriously compromised 12 players' accounts and affected more than 100 others.
Damages to players' accounts have since been repaired, but the site—which was touted by BCLC president Mike Graydon as being up and running by last Friday—is still closed. reads a news release issued by Elizabeth's office:
BCLC will not reactivate the website until an independent third-party review of the system is completed.
Both BCLC and the government (specifically the "less than forthright" minister Rich Coleman) are under heavy fire from privacy and security and officials, as well as would-be users of the gambling site.
PlayNow was, for a few hours, North America's firs-ever, government regulated casino website. There are approximately 2,000 unregulated sites akin to it.
Knowlton Thomas
Knowlton is the Associate Editor of Techvibes.
A Vancouver-based writer and author, Knowlton has been published in national and has also appeared on television and radio. He has written two ebooks are more are in the works.
Previously, he was an editor for New Westminster weekly The Other Press and served on its board of directors.
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