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Loto-Quebec & Montreal Canadiens in talks over ‘mini casino’

Loto-Quebec CEO Jean-Francois Bergeron has confirmed reports that the organization is looking to install hundreds of video gambling machines at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The proposed ‘mini casino’ would see gaming machines, sport betting terminals and poker tables housed inside the 1909 Taverne Moderne restaurant, which adjoins the home of the NHL side Montreal Canadiens.

Loto-Quebec and the Canadiens have been in talks for several months, with Bergeron keen to make a breakthrough as quickly as possible.

“We’re not quite ready [to make an announcement], but yes, we’re in discussions,” he said in a radio interview with Paul Arcand on 98.5 FM yesterday [Feb. 22].

However, the bid is likely to come under heavy scrutiny and, if past events are anything to go by, there could be a number of hurdles to overcome before this can become a reality.

Loto-Quebec is surely prepared for any dissenters this time around, though, having seen attempts to build a $1.1bn casino in Griffintown fail in 2006 after experiencing fierce pushback from community groups and residents.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plant believes the two projects share similarities, but has stopped short of rejecting it outright.

He did, though, stress the importance of receiving approval from Public Health Montreal, who previously expressed strong concerns about the impact of the proposed casino in Griffintown.

Plant said: “I share the opinion of Public Health on this subject, meaning there has to be social acceptability. That’s paramount.”

One of the discussion points has been about the opening hours; whether it will be open seven days a week from noon to 3AM.

Bergeron said the target clientele would be Bell Centre attendees, but added access would not be refused to others who want to go in through its separate street entrance.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Eric Girard has said the Quebec government would want to impose two conditions on the project; to have public health weigh in on it, and to try to ensure that, if it goes forward, the project moves toward an overall reduction in video lottery terminals in the province.

RGC partners with Dr. Jennifer Shatley in bid to boost player protection policy

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) has confirmed it has struck up a new partnership with Dr. Jennifer Shatley, who will help to advance the organization’s research and RG Plus strategy.

Announced today, Feb. 23, the agreement came into effect last week (Feb. 13), with the Founder and Principal Consultant of Logan Avenue Consulting identified as a key component in helping the RGC to achieve its goal of enhancing the gambling industry’s player protection tools.

Dr. Shatley has accrued over 25 years of experience in the industry and is widely recognized as a global expert in the field after having led responsible gambling policy, developed and patented the industry’s first enterprise-wide responsible gaming IT application and directed the first national self-exclusion program for Caesars Entertainment.

Welcoming its newest partner, the RGC said on its website: “We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Shatley on the development and execution of RGC’s innovative research and RG Plus strategy, and know that her knowledge and experience will prove to be an invaluable asset in our continuing efforts to enhance the gambling industry’s player protection strategy and programming including training, policy and evaluations.”

Most recently, Dr. Shatley has led consulting services on all aspects of responsible gambling, including training development, policy and the initiative to create a Responsible Gaming Center of Excellence at the International Gaming Institute in Nevada.

Nuvei closes $1.3bn acquisition of Paya Holdings

Canadian fintech firm Nuvei has finalized its $1.3bn acquisition of US payment and commerce solutions company Paya Holdings.

The two entered into a definitive agreement last month, with Nuvei disclosing that it would pay through a mixture of cash on hand and via a new credit revolving facility worth $600m.

Nuvei announced completion of the deal yesterday, Feb. 22, as the firm seeks to further bolster its diversified platform.

According to the buyer, Paya will amplify its existing growth strategy and expand its reach ‘into new underpenetrated and non-cyclical verticals’ where Nuvei’s proprietary technology is ‘well positioned to accelerate customer growth’.

Philip Fayer, Nuvei Chair and CEO, commented: “This is an important milestone for Nuvei as we continue to build a preeminent payment technology provider with strong positions in global ecommerce, integrated payments and B2B.

“I’m thrilled to officially welcome our new colleagues from Paya to the Nuvei family. We have been working diligently on our integration planning, and we are ready to begin the next step on this exciting journey as a single, unified team.”

The acquisition follows publication of Paya’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for FY2022, filed on Tuesday, Feb. 21, which revealed net income of $11.2m.

Revenue for the 12-month period came in at $381.2m, adjusted EBITDA at $100.2m, and payment volume at $66.9bn.

Meanwhile, Nuvei expects to release its Annual Report on Mar. 8.

Woodbine Entertainment raises Standardbred prices

Toronto-based horse racing operator Woodbine Entertainment has confirmed it has increased the price of several of its Standardbred classes at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Announcing the price hike via its website, the Woodbine Standardbred Race Office attributed a desire to increase the value of the horses in higher level claiming races as a major reason why the decision has been taken.

The following classes will see a price increase beginning Monday, Mar. 6:

$11k to $14k Claiming Handicap increased to $12k to $16k

​$15k to $20k Claiming Handicap increased to $17k to $22k

​$22k to $30k Claiming Handicap increased to $25k to $35k

Alongside horse racing, the track also offers a slot machines parlour with over 1,000 machines, operated by Great Canadian Entertainment, and its revenue is used to support horse racing purses.

Speaking in February last year, Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson was also confident that horse racing could establish itself as a major sports betting player in the newly regulated Ontario market that launched last April.

He further put forward the Woodbine Group as a strong candidate to set up on-location sportsbooks across the province, arguing they would provide the greatest return on the proceeds of sports betting for the government.

However, despite maintaining a healthy relationship with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), no licence has yet been issued to the company in this area.

Betsson granted operator & supplier licences as Betsafe goes live in Ontario

Online gambling firm Betsson has been granted operator and supplier licences to serve the regulated market in Ontario as its global brand Betsafe enters the Canadian province.

The move will see Betsafe make its ‘broad’ B2C offering – including online casino and sports betting – available, with Betsafe products running on the platform of 40% Betsson-owned Strive Gaming.

Betsafe’s products will be available in Ontario via Betsson’s native mobile apps, downloadable via the Apple Store and Google Play store, as well as via the website of ot.betsafe.com.

Pontus Lindwall, President and CEO of Betsson, said: “We are pleased to obtain the necessary licenses to operate with both a B2C and B2B offering in the locally regulated online gaming market in Ontario.

“We are convinced that there are great opportunities for Betsson in Ontario in both the B2C and B2B channels as we bring a highly competitive offering to the market.”

These latest developments are in line with Betsson’s previously communicated market strategy for Ontario, and follow a distribution deal struck with the Toronto-based igaming provider Bragg Gaming Group earlier this month.

Betsson has further confirmed that its product offering for the province has been localized to ‘deliver a North American player experience’.

Bragg Gaming strives for further expansion in Canada after IGA honour

Bragg Gaming Group has announced it will disclose details of its plans for further expansion in the US and Canada next month.

The Toronto-based igaming provider already has a solid presence in Ontario, having teamed up with the likes of Rush Street Interactive, Kalamba Games and, more recently, Betsson, over the past nine months.

But the firm is already looking ahead to grow the brand further and capitalise on its success across North America, with details to be shared at the igaming NEXT NYC ‘23 conference.

“We are excited to share with you our ambitious plans for further expansion in the US and Canadian markets as we ramp up the production and rollout of igaming content by our in-house Bragg Studios, as well as the exclusive content from our Powered by Bragg programme,” said Bragg Gaming, via its website.

Meanwhile, Bragg Gaming received the Tech Provider/Supplier of the Year award at The International Gaming Awards (IGA) earlier this month, earning the honor for the second successive year.

The firm also announced this week that it had ‘reinforced its profile’ in Switzerland after launching its content with Swiss Casinos, with a selection of games from Bragg’s exclusive portfolio now available to Swiss Casinos’ online customers.

Capital City Casinos gains councillor support in Edmonton relocation quest

Despite receiving significant pushback in attempts to move its gaming operations from Camrose to Edmonton, Capital City Casinos is pressing ahead with plans and can now count on support from the County of Barrhead.

Relocation has been mooted since last summer, when Capital City Casinos applied to move their existing Camrose casino to a vacant lot along Parsons Road in Edmonton, citing financial reasons.

This sparked concern from Edmonton residents uneasy at the possibility of increased traffic in the city, as well as the potentially negative impact it could have on local charities.

However, Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis (AGLC) appeared to put an end to this in November by rejecting the relocation application, citing significant opposition from communities.

In fact, after seeking feedback, 98% of 500 submissions were against the relocation of casinos.

But Capital City Casinos has not taken the decision lying down, and subsequently launched an appeal against the AGLC’s ruling.

It has now been reported via Town and Country Today that, on Feb. 7, County of Barrhead councillors instructed the administration to draft a letter asking the AGLC to review its decision and allow the Camrose casino to relocate to Edmonton.

County of Barrhead reeve Douglas Drozd noted the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) also backs Capital City Casinos’ application. 

“To me, the move from Camrose to the city makes great sense. Not only will it increase the pot for the Camrose area, but overall for Alberta,” he said.

“Initially, I think it even made sense to AGLC, and they had it approved, but then political forces got involved, and they backed down.”

Drozd was even more forthright when sharing his views on Twitter, writing last Wednesday: “The AGLC would have us believe that it is ok to treat Albertans in the St.Albert and Camrose casino regions like second class citizens.”

Meanwhile, in a letter from the RMA to rural municipalities asking them to lobby the AGLC, policy and advocacy manager Wyatt Skovron stated that the casinos in St. Albert and Camrose “currently produce the lowest per-event revenues and have among the highest wait times (for NPO casino dates) in the province, while Edmonton’s five casinos produce the highest average per-event revenues in the province and have the shortest wait times”.

He added that, while allowing the Camrose casino to relocate to Edmonton would not solve the inequality of the charity gaming system, it would signal that the province recognizes that the current system is systematically unfair to rural NPOs. 

“If we can help AGLC change their mind and go back to their original rationale, it would be a good thing to do,” Drozd said.

Report: Rogers Sportsnet to axe SNBets in bid to cut costs

The future of SNBets appears increasingly bleak after a recent report claimed Rogers Sportsnet is ready to drop its Canadian sports betting content brand entirely.

According to sports media analyst Jonah Sigel, reporting via YYZ Sports Media, Rogers will adopt a ‘phase-out’ approach, and any work previously branded as SNBets will cease under the name and come to a conclusion ‘within three weeks’.

SNBets first appeared on the scene around a year ago – before the start of the NHL playoffs – making a big social media play to announce its name.

However, less than 12 months later, the brand could cease to exist.

Sigel delved deeper into the story on the latest edition of the Gaming News Canada Show. He said: “Rogers has been under pressure; Rogers specifically has brought in a new Head of Media who has a reputation for hitting numbers by way of cutting heads, so there’s not a lot of surprises.

“[At] first I had heard the entire betting platform was going to be cut and later learnt that wasn’t exactly the case, that it was just the SNBets name itself, [that] the brand was being eliminated.

“In [many senses] it’s people trying to find gold in the hills, and I appreciate that, and they’re trying to get it right.

“Unfortunately, when you’re starting something and pioneering, you fumble and you get things wrong. I think this has been fumbled, I don’t think it was well thought out and executed properly.”

SNBets remains active on social media, posting daily on its Twitter and Instagram handles, but those channels are reportedly set to disappear soon, alongside its website.

“There’s a lot of brand confusion here,” added Sigel. “I don’t think anybody really understood what SNBets was because you’ve got players out there that will take gamblers money, and SNBets wasn’t that.

“You had people out there going: ‘What exactly is SN Bets?’

“They’ve got really good and big advertisers behind them, so you’ve got multiple brands sword fighting for audience recognition, and I think that’s where a lot of the confusion was.

“I think they had a big appetite to do a lot of things; as opposed to trying to get one thing done well, they tried to do lots of things and instead they fumbled a lot.

“I think right now what they’re trying to do is clean it all up and serve their advertisers and partners well and see where they go from there, and hopefully down the road they’ll figure it out.”

BCLC named one of BC’s Top 100 Employers 2023

Canada’s Top 100 Employers has announced the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) as one of this year’s winners in its British Columbia category.

BC’s Top 100 Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers and features in a special magazine co-published with The Vancouver Sun, recognizing employers in the province that ‘lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work’.

Employers throughout BC are evaluated by the editors at Canada’s Top 100 Employers using the same criteria as the national competition: (1) Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement.

BCLC earned praise for its remote workplace policy, which sees employees provided with essential equipment as well as the opportunity to purchase ergonomic chairs from the organization at the cost of $1.

Furthermore, the corporation supports a wellness strategy and a psychological health and safe workplace advisory team, striving to make mental health care services accessible with coverage of up to $3,000 per year as part of its benefits plan.

BCLC was also selected for helping employees to prepare for life after work with retirement assistance planning, including a defined benefit pension plan and health benefits that extend into retirement (with no age limit and 100% premium coverage).

The annual competition is open to any employer with its head office or principal place of work in BC, and employers of any size are eligible to apply, whether private or public sector.

GeoComply blocks 9,000+ platform access attempts in Ontario ahead of Super Bowl LVII

Geolocation provider GeoComply denied more than 9,000 outside attempts to access its platforms in Ontario in the build up to Super Bowl LVII.

That’s according to John Pappas, Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at Vancouver-based GeoComply, speaking on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show.

Pappas detailed how popular sporting events – such as last week’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs – lead to a rise in external interference in the Canadian province, in contravention of the regulations set by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

“It’s a growing concern [cybersecurity], cyber fraud is growing across all e-commerce platforms, betting is no different,” he said. “Any time you have a lot of money exchanging, that’s a time where fraudsters really look to take advantage, and the Super Bowl is a great example of that.

“We stopped over 9,000 attempts at people accessing the platforms in Ontario. We stopped nearly 3,000 cases of proxy betting, and the list goes on as to other areas we were able to detect and stop on behalf of our clients, and we know that [events] like the Super Bowl are going to bring out the fraudsters who try to take advantage, so we always have to be on high alert to ensure our customers are fully protected.”

The majority of attempts came from the US, with suggestions that underage American gamblers (under 21) were hoping to place their same game parlays in Ontario, where the legal betting age is 19.

Attempts were also registered in other continents, though, such as Europe, where residents in countries including Ireland, Germany and Latvia were registered as having attempted access.

Pappas added: “As part of the regulatory mandate, GeoComply is constantly combatting attempts from around the globe to access our customers’ platforms in Ontario.

“Our anti-fraud systems were optimized well in advance of the Big Game, not just in the US where the Super Bowl is the most popular sporting event of the year, but for our Canadian customers as well.”