ATLANTIC LOTTERY CORP READY TO GO ON INTERNET GAMBLIN

Posted 2/25/11 : New Brunswick considers joining BC and Quebec in the online gambling sector
 
Whilst not all of the small Canadian Maritime provinces using the Atlantic Lottery Corporation favour getting into online gambling, it appears that New Brunswick is taking a more considered approach.
 
This week a manager of the ALC told a committee on Crown Corporations that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation is ready to expand its online gambling operations if the New Brunswick government approves the move.
 
The manager revealed that the necessary regulatory changes have already been drafted that would allow the company to expand further into online gambling, joining provinces like British Columbia and Quebec that have already gone online with gambling offerings.
 
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that New Brunswick has internet games such as bingo but no casino-type games that are played with other punters, such as poker.
 
"Technically, it is a very easy decision," the committee was told. "We have some quality control testing … so our due diligence would take a few months, so it is up to the shareholder on the timing because all of the other pieces are in place."
 
A Department of Finance official from New Brunswick told the Crown committee that the provincial government has been "…consistent in that we have had ongoing discussions with ALC but there is no decision made either way on the matter."
 
The ALC has established a good relationship with its equivalent organisations in BC and Quebec – the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Loto-Quebec.
 
Of the provinces making up the shareholding in the ALC, thus far Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have indicated that there are no plans to enter the online gambling sector; provinces are free to decide individually, with those that are for the idea receiving the necessary technical support through the ALC.