Government approval will see leading Canadian provincial monopoly offer games from the autumn of 2010.
Monday 22nd February 2010
Canadian state-run provincial lottery operator Loto-Quebec has received government approval to launch a new online gaming site this autumn based on the Swedish model.
Loto-Quebec stated that it would establish its new site in conjunction the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in an effort to receive a share of the estimated $600 million online gambling earns each year in Canada.
“Our citizens are not protected and the money goes to illegal channels,” said Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand.
According to a report from broadcaster CTV, Quebecers currently have access to more than 2,000 online gaming sites including some hosted by the nearby Kahnawake jurisdiction.
Loto-Quebec stated that its new site would offer measures to weed out problem gamblers including age verification, options for self-exclusion and deposit limits.
“Online gambling sites obviously do not offer an assistance programme for vulnerable players,” said Alain Cousineau, Chief Executive Officer for Loto-Quebec.
“This leaves the state to pick up the costs of problem online gambling without reaping any benefits. In the first four hours when the Swedish poker got online they got 20 percent of the market.”
