Province still waiting for single-event bets
The Canadian province of Manitoba will turn a profit, albeit a small one, after its first full year of online gaming. Officials are hoping to build momentum and generate greater revenues as more people register with playnow.com, reports the Winnipeg Free Press.
According to Andrea Kowal, spokeswoman for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, in 2013 Manitobans wagered just under $6 million on the site, which is operated by the British Columbia Lotteries Corp. Net income for the province during the 2013-14 fiscal year was about $300,000.
“We’re still really positive about it,” Kowal said. “The amount of business playnow.com is doing is improving.” ML&L forecasts the revenues will more than double to about $1 million this fiscal year. But that increase also will depend on increase online lottery sales.
“Lotteries is a little softer than expected,” Kowal said. “It will be the next fiscal year before we actually have a whole year’s experience with a full slate of products.”
A proposed law that would allow single-event sports gambling in Canada remains stalled in the Senate. Betting on single games is now against the law, though provinces are allowed to offer parlay-style wagers on multiple games. Both BCLC and the Manitoba government support single-event bets.
“Most Manitobans who want to make those kind of single-event bets already do,” Kowal said, advancing the argument that ongoing prohibition of single-event betting only drives the business underground. “They just go on the internet and bet on some of the other sites that are available offshore.”
