A Windsor judge has ordered the court to hold the remaining winnings of a lottery ticket which is under dispute by an estranged Chatham couple.

A lawyer for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation appeared before Justice Gregory Verbeem on August 20 -- asking the court to hold the $3-million in dispute.

Denise Robertson asserts she was the common-law spouse to Maurice Thibeault when he won a $6.1-million Lotto 6/49 prize in September of 2017.

Her lawyer, Steven Pickard, claims Thibeault broke up with Robertson, then within a week, tried to claim the total prize.

Thibeault has already been paid $3-million of the winnings and OLG lawyer James Doris argued the remaining amount should be given to the court until a decision is made about its rightful owner.

“The OLG is a stakeholder in a fight in which it has no stake or interest,” said Doris.

No date has been set for a trial over the disputed winnings.

Lawyers think that may take another year.

Thibeault has also launched a lawsuit against the provincial lottery regulator, seeking a total $825,000 in damages from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.