Internet: Expanded partnership in gaming options could include Texas Hold'em

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Dave MacLean
Telegraph-Journal

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Poker players in New Brunswick could soon have a legal, online option to play Texas Hold'em.

Loto-Québec is hoping to soon join the Atlantic Lottery Corporation and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in providing online gaming options and that partnership could expand to include the poker craze that lottery insiders say is gobbling up about $50 million annually from gamblers in the Atlantic region.

President and CEO Alain Cousineau said earlier this week Loto-Québec has submitted a proposal to the Quebec government to allow the corporation to become the third jurisdiction in North America to offer online gaming. Atlantic Canada, which was the first, and British Columbia are the only others.

ALC spokeswoman Paula Dyke said the corporation is always looking at new products and listening to its customers. She said no firm decision has been made about offering poker, but noted ALC is aware of the large number of Atlantic Canadians spending millions playing on illegal sites.

"We've been online for the last five years and we continue to look at what players are looking for and the kinds of games they want to play and how we can evolve our offerings to meet those needs because when you look at the alternative for Atlantic Canadians, it's quite simply pretty scary," Dyke said.

"There are more than 2,000 online gaming sites "¦ and what (players) don't have is any assurance "¦ that they'll get paid (when they win), or any commitment to responsible gambling and player protection."

Dyke said ALC is constantly monitoring player feedback, hoping to offer the games customers want to play.

"We get players asking about new products all the time - you'd be amazed at the amount of feedback we get," she said. "It's obviously no secret that Texas Hold'em is a wildly popular game among people of all ages.

"One of the things we hear from players is that they like to play lottery games, they like to play the kinds of products that you would find on the Internet."

Dyke said ALC and its sister lotteries in Canada are aware of the booming online gaming business, especially the poker rooms.

ALC already offers interactive online gaming, including nightly bingo games, on its website at playsphere.ca.

But the corporation would need government approval before adding poker to its product line, said Department of Finance spokesman Marc Belliveau.

"The government, with its representation on the board, lets ALC decide its product and operate its business as it wants to," Belliveau said. "Should ALC decide at any point to offer (poker) in New Brunswick, it would require government approval, because government would have to change some laws."