Peggy's Shock Fee After Paying For The Canada Lotto 649 Game Online

The shock of winning Canada's Lotto 649 jackpot of $7 million didn't worry 19-year-old Kelsie Hodgin from Southfield, NB, but some online gaming playing has others worried.

Three Lotto 649 lottery tickets bought at the store normally costs $3. But Peggy Staruch got a surprise when she bought them online from PlayOLG and checked her credit card statement.

Those tickets incurred a cash withdrawal fee from the bank of $3.50, which meant she paid $6.50 - over double the ticket cost.

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 "It’s a nasty surprise to see that extra $3.50 charged every time you buy a ticket. You’re paying double . . . you’re better off buying it in the store," Staruch told the Star.

She bought the tickets online using her Royal Bank of Canada VISA credit card. But when she looked at her credit card statement, she saw repeated $3.50 'cash advance fee' charges added on to the original cost of the tickets.

A cash advance is when a person withdraws cash from an ATM machine on a credit card. Banks usually charge a fee for the service, which can range from $3.50 to $10.

Ryan Bissonnette of OLG.

PHOTO: Caryn Ceolin

 OLG spokesperson Ryan Bissonnette told the Star that the company does not charge any fees when people buy lottery tickets online, or deposit funds into their online player accounts.

“We clearly state that additional fees could be applied by their financial institutions. That’s something that you can’t miss,” Bissonnette said.

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 The PlayOLG Terms and Conditions, which players must agree to in order to create an account, also state that 'some credit card issuers may treat the funding of a Player Account as a cash advance and charge a fee for each such credit card transaction. Any cash advance fee or other fees relating to the use of a credit card are the Player's sole responsibility.'

READ MORE: The Star