The operators of a Prince Edward Island-based Internet lottery called The Earth Fund continue to prepare for the new site's launch, despite legal action taken by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC). Last week the ILC, an association of Canadian provincial lotteries, asked an Ontario court to declare that the Internet lottery's operation violated Canada's gaming laws.
In the face of such a threat, The Earth Fund is proceeding with its plans. "Obviously if we get a court order saying we can't proceed we will comply," PEI Treasurer Pat Mella told The Lottery Insider. "But we don't have any indication that is going to be the case." According to Mella, Judge Charles Dubbin told them that the Internet lottery would not contravene legislation prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets in other
provinces.
Marshall Pollock, chair of Lottery Management (P.E.I.) Inc., isn't surprised by the ILC's efforts to stop the Internet lottery. "From a personal perspective, I guess I'm disappointed that the provinces would gang up on a little lottery like the Earth Fund," he said.
He pointed out that the Earth Fund was unlikely to prove much competition to the provincial lotteries, saying, "We're in a very different niche and a very different price point. They're selling in corner stores for a dollar or two, we're selling $50 tickets on the Internet. It's a passive game, the lotteries haven't had that kind of game in years."