The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has been holding talks with Canadian provincial authorities to bring an online casino to the country’s Atlantic Provinces.
The Canadian Broadcasting Company disclosed the talks with officials from Newfoundland and Labrador—which comprises a Canadian province—after obtaining records through an Access to Information request.
The records showed that Finance Minister Cathy Bennett met with ALC president and CEO Brent Scrimshaw twice in January. Documents for those meetings, given ahead of time to Bennett, outline issues the ALC is facing—namely, changes to the gaming environment, tied to the “lightning-speed developments” in online and mobile device use.
In those documents, the ALC wrote that it’s “moving aggressively to ensure that it has the right games delivered through the right channels.”
Bennett told the network in an email that the lottery company has had a number of meetings with its shareholders to present ideas, including an online casino.
“The provincial government has indicated to ALC that iCasino is not a priority at this time,” read the statement.
The ALC also sent an email statement: “While Atlantic Lottery currently offers games online at ALC.ca, there has been no decision reached regarding casino-style games.”
According to the report, the pitch for an online casino called for approvals, procurement, and software development through 2016, with a launch in early 2017. It would include casino-style products, including slot games and table games like blackjack and roulette.
The lottery company also noted that online providers are already taking nearly $60 million out of Atlantic Canada each year. The company expects an online casino in Atlantic Canada to deliver $122 million in net revenue and $80 million in net profit over seven years.
