The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation said last week it is looking for a company to expand its online betting in Ontario.
Do you want to bet on when Trump will be impeached? Know the date of the next royal wedding? Ontario’s gambling agency wants to dip its toes into novelty betting and live in-game bets.
E-sports has risen in popularity recently. OLG spokesman said:
“In the last few years, (eSports) and betting on it has surged in popularity,” Bitonti said. “There are hundreds of e-sport tournament events held each year, many in Ontario.”
He also added:
“Novelty betting is placing a bet on an outcome that’s not part of a sports or athletic event. For example, the winner of an election or the gender of a baby about to be born to royalty,” he added.
The expansion will be focused on sports betting but could dive into people being able to place live bets during games, something OLG doesn’t offer.
The OLG is expected to select a company for the project sometime in 2018.
Ontario could join four other Canadian provinces with online sports, eSports and novelty betting. Atlantic Canada, British Columbia, Québec and Manitoba are the provinces that have dipped into novelty and eSports betting.
British Columbia and Manitoba offer novelty betting, while in Atlantic Canada, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has introduced an app where users can access their games and get custom alerts.
Responsible gaming is still the main priority for Ontario’s Finance Minister Charles Sousa.
“We’ve been looking at the modernization strategy,” he said. “We’re looking at expanding and protecting consumer activity … The situation is that a lot of online (gambling) activity occurs that is unregulated and many people are exposed, especially young kids.”
