Ontario lottery prepares for online operations

The state lottery in Ontario, the most populated Canadian province, has announced that it has awarded its internet gambling expert consulting contract to Sports Gaming Limited.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation advised last August that it intended to follow British Columbia and Quebec in offering regulated online gambling to Canadian residents .
Sports Gaming was selected after a competitive process, and will assist the Corporation in its move towards online operations with a target of 2012 for implementation.
The Corporation reveals in a statement that it has begun a thorough consultation and implementation process.
“Between now and 2012 when the program is set to launch, OLG will benefit from analyzing and enhancing best practices and security procedures adopted in other jurisdictions across Canada and in Europe,” the statement notes. “In particular, OLG will implement a strong responsible gambling program and offer increased player protections, secure transactions and data privacy.”
OLG is seeking input from the business community on how best to design a high-performing operating model for Internet gaming that is profitable and meets public interest principles. A spokesman said that OLG’s goal is to deliver an appealing, well-managed, well-run Internet gaming site that will meet Ontarians’ expectations for such an offering, and increase net profit to the province.
The Corporation has identified five key ‘public interest’ principles that are important to the development of its new Internet gaming business. These are:
Promote Responsible Gambling
Prevent Access by Minors
Protect Personal Information
Ensure the Integrity of Games
Support the Detection of Money Laundering and other Criminal Activity
OLG’s consultations are an essential ingredient to fulfilling these five principles, and the consultation plan centres on three elements:
Expert Roundtables
Seeking advice from experts, domestic and international, in the fields of responsible gambling, data privacy and crime prevention. The goal is to embed strong controls and standards in OLG’s Internet gaming site, building on lessons learned in other jurisdictions, specialised technical and professional knowledge and industry best practices.
Public Sector Partners
Working closely with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) on the regulatory regime the regulator is developing for Internet gaming. OLG will also work with other bodies, such as the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation and FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), to identify opportunities to harmonise approaches and contribute to crime prevention in an Internet gaming context.
Business Input
Soliciting input from the business community through a fair, open and transparent bidding process to contract with qualified vendors. Internet gaming is a highly technical business and OLG will procure service providers to assist with the delivery and operation of the business. To initiate this process, on November 15, 2010, OLG posted a Request for Information (RFI). Based on the information gathered from the RFI, OLG will initiate a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFI is, and the RFP will be, available for all members of the public to view.
The Corporation notes that an estimated $1 billion is wagered annually by Canadians on gambling websites that are not authorised in Ontario. Of the $1 billion wagered, an estimated $400 million is spent by Ontarians.

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