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Canada's Growing Gaming Industry is Shining Bright

"Today, Canada's gaming industry is spectacularly successful across its 10 provinces, producing a hefty national net profit of about $6.3 billion (US$4 billion) a year — in a thinly populated country of 31 million.

After a cautious evolution since the federal government legalized provincial lotteries in 1969 (and craps games 30 years later), the industry is turning into an American-influenced and often American-managed style of permanent, commercial casinos — notably in Ontario and Quebec, and more modestly in Winnipeg and Regina in western Canada.

"…But there is nothing particularly consistent about gaming across Canada. It's a country of regional attitudes.

"There are government-operated charity casinos, and also licensed but private-sector charity casinos, depending on the province. Video lottery terminals are allowed in some provinces, not others, and they can be controversial; Alberta's right to pull VLTs out of hotels is heading for a ruling before the Supreme Court of Canada this year. Gaming on First Nations land is starting to stir in some jurisdictions, albeit slowly. The only consistency about gaming across the country is the popularity of lottery tickets, in their infinite variety, and bingo games.

"…While Canada lags Nevada, New Jersey and other U.S. states in the scale, scope and sophistication of gaming, some provincial gaming corporations are ahead of the pack.

"For example, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLGC) of Toronto, a Crown corporation, last fall chose New York-based Scientific Games International as the preferred supplier for its next generation of 7,800 online terminals and software. The contract, worth about $80 million, will be fulfilled within a few months after a detailed review of the system's capabilities.

"…Loto-Québec is no slouch in the high-tech department. It launched the world's first computerized lottery system and tele-active lotteries a few years ago.

"Then, in January 2001, Nter Technologies Inc., a joint venture of Loto-Québec and CGI Group Inc., Canada's largest computer services group, all based in Montreal, won contracts to provide functional specifications for a Swedish organization's video lottery central system and another for Atlantic Lottery Corp.'s information technology division based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"…British Columbia's solicitor general, Rich Coleman, in December announced changes to the province's charitable gaming policies that, among other things, would allow gaming revenues to be used to finance capital projects, remove the limit on money a group can raise in a year through raffles and lotteries, extend bingo application licenses from two years to three years, and streamline the application process.

"…Commerce in fact-gathering and dissemination — reported nearly two years ago that B.C. has the lowest per capita wagering in Canada — $140 a year, compared with the national average of $320. Still, gaming revenues are estimated to be about $2 billion a year, nearly half from lotteries, about a quarter from casino gaming (after prizes are paid out), then gross bingo and ticket raffle income and gross parimutuel betting income on horse racing.

"…Nova Scotia Gaming Corp. contributed $1.7 million in fiscal 2001 toward problem gambling resources and programs, and [Julia Watt, communications manager of Nova Scotia Gaming Corp.] noted that compared with other provinces, Nova Scotia `leads the way in contributions on a per capita and profit basis'…."

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