Woman sued by former partner over $5M lottery prize claims she was rightful winner

Vera-Lynn Kubinec · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 9:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

A Manitoba pistillate who is being sued by her erstwhile fellow successful a quality implicit a $5-million lottery prize says she is the lawful victor of the lottery money and astatine the clip of the win, the antheral did not quality that she was the summons holder.

Krystal McKay was presented with the Lotto 6/49 prize successful January 2024, but her erstwhile boyfriend, Lawrence Campbell, filed a suit successful May of this year claiming helium purchased the winning summons and was its sole owner, making him entitled to the prize.

His suit alleged helium granted McKay support to assertion the lottery summons and clasp the winnings successful spot for him due to the fact that helium didn't person an progressive slope relationship or government-issued photograph ID astatine the time.

In a defence connection filed successful tribunal June 27, McKay alleges that connected the time earlier her day successful January 2024, she and Campbell were driving past a Winnipeg convenience store erstwhile she asked him to halt and bargain her a lottery ticket.

After helium did that, she enactment the summons successful her wallet.

"There was nary treatment astatine this time, oregon astatine all, that it was not [McKay's] ticket," her connection of defence claims.

It besides says that erstwhile McKay signed the winning summons astatine a Shoppers Drug Mart store, determination was nary treatment astir McKay claiming the winnings connected Campbell's behalf. 

She and Campbell went to the bureau of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation — the non-profit corporation that manages lotteries for respective provincial governments, including Lotto 6/49 — to motion a fig of documents connected Jan. 22, 2024, wherever she "claimed to beryllium the lawful holder of the ticket" and that "no different idiosyncratic had immoderate involvement oregon close to … immoderate information of the prize," her defence connection says.

Campbell "was contiguous with her and did not quality this oregon suggest otherwise," and signed a WCLC release successful which "he acknowledged helium did not person immoderate assertion to, oregon involvement in, the summons oregon immoderate prize resulting," according to the tribunal document.

When asked by WCLC whether helium was making a assertion to the money, Campbell said the summons belonged to McKay, "as it was purchased for her," her defence connection says.

It besides says determination was ne'er immoderate treatment betwixt the two about McKay claiming the prize connected behalf of Campbell due to the fact that of a deficiency of government-issued identification, the papers says.

While Campbell's suit claims McKay "ghosted" him, refusing to instrumentality his calls aft the win, McKay alleges that successful December 2023, anterior to the lottery win, she had told Campbell she wanted to extremity their relationship.

Her defence connection also denies Campbell's allegation that helium recovered her successful furniture with different antheral successful the period aft the lottery win, and she denies the assertion she "used the struggle betwixt them to deprive [Campbell] from entree to his rightful monies."

Her allegations person not been tested in court.

Court injunction prevents merchantability of assets

Campbell's lawyer filed a tribunal motion asking a justice for an bid to forestall McKay from giving distant immoderate of her wealth oregon selling different assets portion the suit is successful progress.

After a June 13 tribunal hearing, a justice issued an interim injunction prohibiting McKay from selling oregon transferring immoderate existent estate, vehicles or different spot she owns that has a worth of much than $3,500, until there's a further bid from the court.

The injunction applies to things McKay acquired aft receiving the lottery money.

Western Canada Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation are besides named arsenic defendants successful Campbell's lawsuit.

In a defence connection filed Monday by Liquor & Lotteries, the Crown corp denies the allegations successful the lawsuit, saying its responsibilities are constricted to the organisation and selling of lottery games. 

The corp "specifically denies that it was liable for prize investigation, prize authorization, oregon prize payouts," its connection of defence says.

In effect to the lawsuit, Liquor & Lotteries says it "acted wrong the scope of its duties" and did thing to origin immoderate "legally compensable harm" to Campbell.

Campbell's lawyer Chad Panting disputes that.

"Should a player-funded Crown corp truly beryllium denying their duties owed to their astir susceptible players?" helium wrote successful a connection to CBC.

He pointed to Liquor & Lotteries' "play responsibly" messaging, saying the Crown corp should "embody their precise ain 'lotto motto.'"

Campbell besides provided a connection issued done his lawyer, straight referencing McKay.

"I was successful emotion with you and would person done (nearly) thing for you," Campbell wrote, but "[you] abused it and maine for your benefit."