Canada
New Pan-Canadian Coalition of Provincial Gaming Corporations Calls for Interjurisdictional Cooperation to Tackle Illegal Online Gambling
A coalition of five provincial gaming corporations in Canada is calling on the federal government to continue to work with the provinces and regulators to protect Canadians from the misleading advertising and operation of illegal gambling websites within Canada.
The coalition comprised British Columbia Lottery Corporation; Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis; Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation; Loto-Québec; and Atlantic Lottery Corporation (collectively, the Provincial Lottery Corporations).
In all provinces where coalition members operate, offshore operators promote their illegal gambling websites by advertising mirror âfree-to-playâ websites in all forms of media and, in particular, during popular live sporting events. These advertisements broadcast nationally, and blur the line between provincially regulated gaming sites, on the one hand, and illegal operators, on the other.
âResearch shows that the majority of players are unaware of whether an online site is legal in their province or not. This is a significant amount of money that could be staying right here in our region to fund public services, but instead continues to be taken away from helping our communities to the sole benefit of illegal operators,â said Atlantic Lottery Corporation President and CEO, Patrick Daigle.
In response to the significant concern expressed by Canadians over the rapid increase and frequency of these advertisements, the Provincial Lottery Corporations have come together to fight back against these illegal operators and their misleading, intrusive advertising.
Part of the coalitionâs advocacy will work to raise public awareness about the prevalence of illegal operators and advise media platform owners of their duty to comply with existing laws and regulations by refusing to accept misleading advertisements for illegal gambling websites. The coalition also encourages the federal government to enforce current laws and regulations to shut out these operators from the markets where the Provincial Lottery Corporations operate.
According to June 2022 research conducted by H2 Gambling Capital, the Canadian online gambling market is valued at $3.8 billion in 2022 and is estimated to grow to $6.2 billion by 2026.
âIllegal operators see the Canadian landscape on a whole as ripe for the taking. They are using misleading advertising to dominate the market, offering countless opportunities for Canadians to – often unknowingly â engage in illegal betting,â said Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, CEO, Kandice Machado.
Commercial gambling is illegal in Canada unless controlled by the various provincial governments. Provincial oversight helps protect players by offering controlled and safe environments to play, protection from predatory practices, age-gating, safe play resources to support healthy play, and accountability to the public. Offshore illegal gambling websites are not regulated or authorized by provincial jurisdictions.
âThe members of our coalition return their profits back to the province in which they operate. These profits help fund important programs and services like healthcare, education, and community programs. Illegal gambling websites advertise to Canadian players but often operate outside of Canada, taking the profits with them,â said Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation, President & CEO, Manny Atwal.
Canada
Playân GO announces partnership with Canadian operator Loto-QuĂ©bec
Playân GO, the worldâs leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced a partnership with Canadian operator Loto-QuĂ©bec, launching the Swedish gaming giantâs games into another Canadian province.
Already active in another Canadian province , this partnership sees Playân GOâs content available in the province of QuĂ©bec exclusively with Loto-QuĂ©bec, a state-owned corporation, where online players now have access to titles such as Tome of Madness.Â
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer, Playân GO said: âAt Playân GO, we have always been clear in our vision to be active in every regulated market in the world, and this partnership with Loto-QuĂ©bec is the next step on that journey.
âOur past success in Canada gives us confidence that players in QuĂ©bec will enjoy the best Playân GO content, and we look forward to many years of success with Loto-QuĂ©bec in the province.â
StĂ©phane Martel, Head of Product and Innovation at Loto-QuĂ©bec added: âAs the sole iGaming operator in QuĂ©bec, we pride ourselves on offering titles that truly add value to our platform, lotoquebec.com. We are happy to bring Playân GO games to our players.â
Canada
Court Decision Upholds iGaming Ontario’s Model
iGaming Ontario has welcomed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court, which found that iGaming Ontarioâs model is consistent with the Criminal Code and that iGaming Ontario is conducting and managing igaming in the province.
âWe have always been confident in our model and are pleased that the court has ruled in our favour, and that Ontarians can continue to play with confidence in our regulated igaming market,â said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario.
âOntarioâs model meets the requirements and contributes to the public good by protecting players, their data and their funds, while helping to fund priority public services in Ontario, and bringing well-paid, high-tech jobs and economic development to Ontario,â Otton added.
In dismissing the application brought forward by the Mohawk Council of KahnawĂ :ke (MCK), the Superior Court found that iGaming Ontario is the âoperating mindâ behind Ontarioâs competitive igaming market in accordance with the conduct and manage requirements of the Criminal Code.
iGaming Ontario will continue to conduct and manage igaming as it has since the launch of the regulated market on April 4, 2022.
Canada
Bragg Gaming Appoints Renowned iGaming Executive Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer
Bragg Gaming Group, a global iGaming technology and content provider, announced that Neill Whyte has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective 1st May 2024, establishing a new global commercial structure at the Company and bolstering its leadership team.
Whyte brings over 18 years of experience in the iGaming sector, most recently in the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Gaming Corporationâs (DGC), B2B iGaming Division. After joining DGC in early 2020, he was responsible for the commercially successful launch and growth of its content distribution business in the US.
Prior to joining DGC, Whyte held multiple positions in the gaming industry including as Head of Business Development at Isle of Man-based iGaming specialist Apricot Investments, as Board Member at Swedish iGaming product and Lottery content distributor Genera Networks, and in various senior roles over eleven years at leading iGaming content supplier Microgaming, including as Head of Product Channels.
In his new role with Bragg, Whyte will be tasked with leading the Companyâs global commercial teams to drive growth across all of the Companyâs product verticals which include proprietary online casino content from its Atomic Slot Lab, Indigo Magic and Wild Streak Gaming studios, exclusive content from content partners, HUB a leading casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement, as well as its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and turnkey solutions.
MatevĆŸ Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: âI am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His iGaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.
âAs we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neillâs unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.â
Neill Whyte, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: âItâs an honor to join MatevĆŸ and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and in India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.
âWe also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and Iâm planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I canât wait to get going.â
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