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HALIFAX, N.S. —

Atlantic Lottery Corporation is looking to hire "mystery shoppers" to make sure retailers are not selling tickets to people under the age of 19.

The company's Request for Proposals was posted on the Nova Scotia government tenders procurement website on Friday seeking a third-party provider of young people to test for compliance to regulations banning the sale to underage customers.

Greg Weston, spokesman for ALC, said the company regularly checks regulation compliance rates with retailers across Atlantic Canada.

"It's part of our 19-plus retailer compliance program," he said in a telephone interview on Friday. "So we're looking for a provider to conduct these tests on our behalf to make sure that lottery tickets are only being sold to people who are 19 years of age or older."

He said ALC has been doing the tests for at least 10 years, adding that the tender has been posted because the contract with the current provider is set to expire soon.

Weston was unable to say who the current provider of mystery shoppers is. But he did say that firm could bid for the contract again.

The mystery shoppers would work as a team with a person under 19 and an accompanying adult to ensure their safety conducting the tests.

"It's just part of making sure that we're meeting our own standards as the regulated gaming provider in Atlantic Canada," Weston said.

"We take it very seriously to be a regulated provider of lottery and gaming products and making sure that we follow the rules and regulations in Atlantic Canada that are set out for us is a really important part of our operation. So this is just one of the many things we do to ensure that we fulfill our responsibilities."

George Joukhadar, the proprietor of Fenwick Convenience at the corner of South Park and Fenwick streets in Halifax, has been in business for more than 30 years.

On Saturday, he said he doesn't have a problem with ALC testing retailers if the mystery shopper actually looks to be underage. But he does think it's dishonest if the person looks of legal age but actually isn't.

"If you send somebody (who) looks young and he is young, and you catch the clerk or the owner selling a ticket, fine, you could blame them," Joukhadar said. "But sometimes ... you could look at your face, 'oh, you look like 25-year-old,' and you're not. Or, especially the girls, sometimes they look young, but they are not, or they look old but they are not, or whatever, and you sell them a ticket. It's not right.

"But as a law, yeah, it is good, in general. As a law, you're not allowed to sell (to) anybody under 19 years old. And if somebody looks young ... ok, you tell them 'I don't want (to) sell you a ticket, please give me your ID.' Make sure. It's 100 per cent perfect and no problem."

But he would be happier if some other, more collaborative means of ensuring compliance could be used rather than "send a spy" to the store.

"The idea is when they send somebody to make you do something wrong," Joukhadar said. "'I've sent somebody underage and I want you to make mistake and sell it to him, and bam! We got you.' Why do (that) from (the) first minute? Don't do it."

Even so, he said he hasn't had any issues with compliance in his business, whether for lottery or cigarette sales.

"We ID everybody here and everybody knows that. Even the customers know."

Joukhadar said in past years, some young customers would get upset when asked for identification but now they accept it as a necessary step.

"Everybody comes and even before you ask, (they) give you the ID," he said.

The RFP closes on March 2.