The crown agency offering sports betting in Ontario is aiming to add another way for players to get down a wager on their own, via more than 1,000 self-serve machines.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) announced on Tuesday that it had begun a process to launch around 1,400 self-serve terminals in lottery-retail locations across the province.
The terminals will give the government-owned company a new avenue for selling lottery tickets and taking sports bets. OLG already offers both lottery-based and online sports betting, runs an iGaming site, and is legally responsible for casino gambling in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province.
A spokesperson told Covers that bettors will be able to wager on sports at the new terminals using a paper selection slip or OLG's bet-builder mobile app. The latter lets players build a bet slip on the app, get a barcode, and then take that barcode to a retail location to be scanned and to receive their ticket.
Winning the lottery game
OLG says it plans on touching base with its retail partners and other stakeholders to answer questions about the terminals, which a subsidiary of International Game Technology PLC has agreed to design and build. Once the provincial government signs off on the project, OLG plans on rolling out the machines at convenience stores and other retail locations in the second half of 2023.
"Expanding and growing our lottery business is part of our plan to continuously improve the customer experience and deliver innovative gaming experiences for players while creating value for the Province of Ontario and our retail partners,” said Duncan Hannay, OLG's president and CEO, in a press release.
OLG's self-serve plans come as the company has been contending with a new source of competition in the form of Ontario's relatively new market for internet gambling. That market, which opened in April, has allowed more than 20 other online sportsbooks to legally challenge OLG and its PROLINE+ platform for business in a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for Canada.
"Our government is committed to ensuring that Ontario's gaming market is innovative and responsive to the needs of both consumers and retailers," Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in Monday’s release. "With today's announcement, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is making its lottery products more accessible, while maintaining its commitment to social responsibility."
Keeping it convenient
Ontario’s new iGaming market has already led to billions being bet with private-sector gaming operators, rather than OLG. Yet the government-owned company’s brand remains well-known among Ontario consumers, including those who have long visited convenience stores and other retail locations to fill out paper slips and wager on sports via OLG’s traditional PROLINE product.
Even as OLG has broadened its digital offerings, the company has still had to ensure those retail customers continue to have a place to bet, and that store owners continue to get business from consumers seeking lottery and sports-betting tickets. Self-serve kiosks could help with both.
"We know that self-serve options are important for customers and that these new terminals would enhance the retail lottery experience — benefiting our members' businesses and increasing the important economic contribution they make to Ontario,” said Dave Bryans, CEO of the Ontario Convenience Store Association, in the release.
