The BC Lottery Corp.’s PlayNow online gambling site got a quiet, yet substantial boost July 5 with what eGaming vice-president Rhonda Garvey calls “more robust sports betting options.”
The site now offers odds on futures and live in-game betting. It’s the result of a partnership with Irish betting giant Paddy Power.
Garvey said the major enhancements to PlayNow would be promoted with an advertising campaign this fall when the National Hockey League is scheduled to open its season and the Canadian Football League playoff races begin. Paddy Power is known for attention-getting stunts and offering so-called “entertainment bets,” such as the outcome of U.S. presidential elections.
“We do plan to offer our version of entertainment bets,” Garvey said. “It [gives] people who are not necessarily sports enthusiasts … an option to try a version of sports betting in something they are comfortable with. I can’t really say what the entertainment bets will look like.”
She declined to comment on whether wagers could be taken on the outcome of B.C.’s 2013 provincial election.Garvey said net eGaming income was $25 million for the last fiscal year.
B.C. is waiting for the federal government to pass a Criminal Code amendment this fall to allow single-event wagering. The private member’s bill tabled by Windsor-Tecumseh NDP MP Joe Comartin has support of the Conservative majority. Comartin promoted the amendment to give Canadian casinos another tool to keep gamblers home. It would also benefit provincial lottery corporations. Nevada is the only jurisdiction in North America that takes legal bets on single games.
Rich Coleman,the minister responsible for gambling, wrote to federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson in April 2010 to support single-event sports wagering.
“Without the ability to offer the types of bets prohibited by the code, lawful gaming offerings in Canada cannot compete with online gaming offered from outside Canada or Nevada tourist destinations like Las Vegas,” Coleman wrote in a letter obtained via Freedom of Information.
Coleman said it would bring higher standards in responsible gambling, player protection, fairness, integrity and security.
“Moreover, legalizing single-event betting would allow in-depth and current reporting to regulators facilitating the response to suspicious activity. This would provide a much more effective way to detect and prevent attempts to ‘fix’ sporting events.” •
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