Poll results: Lottery specialist to win Ontario contract say readers
eGR readers believe a lottery provider will be the most likely winner of the Ontario contract.
The eventual supplier to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) will be a lottery provider, rather than an gaming operator, according to the results of this week’s poll.
The majority of eGaming Review readers (33%) believe that a lottery provider be awarded the contract thought to be worth up to CA$75m in profit to the eventual supplier over the course of the contract’s five-year lifetime. Less than a third (28%) of those polled believe an egaming operator will win North America’s largest gaming contract outside the US.
This idea has been given credence by Paddy Power signing a 3-year deal with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to supply product, pricing and risk management services for BCLC’s PlayNow.com sportsbook earlier this week. It marks the company’s first foray into North America, and could lead to other operators looking to tie up deals in the region.
OLG is looking for a gaming platform provider to launch an online casino and lottery product, with the chosen provider also supplying casino games, a customer service solution, financial processing and a player account management system. The chosen solution will also be integrated into OLG’s lottery infrastructure to allow players to purchase lottery tickets online.
Somewhat surprisingly, only 25% of readers believe that a service provider will be chosen to supply the lottery solution, despite high-profile names like GTech G2, OpenBet and Dragonfish being expected to respond to the RFP.
14% of readers believe that a land-based supplier will win the contract, though OLG’s land-based operations are currently powered by the likes of IGT and Bally Technologies – who are in the process of launching an online arm. However, both of these suppliers are expected to respond to the RFP, hoping to leverage their knowledge of OLG’s operations.
Ontario is Canada’s largest province, with OLG pulling in revenues of between $425m and $450m a year. Winning the contract is expected to leave successful supplier in a leading position to supply US state lotteries once the market is opened in the next few years.