Online Gaming in British Columbia

British Columbia residents can play lottery games, poker and casino games – including slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps – at PlayNow.com. Sports betting is available.

British Columbia was the first jurisdiction in North America to allow government-run online gambling.

Within days of PlayNow.com's launch, the site was moved offline because of security issues. The site reopened in August 2010 and joined the Canadian Poker Network in February 2011. The poker network enables British Columbia residents to play poker against players from Québec using the Espacejeux online poker room. Espacejeux made its debut in December 2010.

The Canadian Poker Network uses software developed by GTECH G2 and can handle more than 10,000 concurrent players.

In 2012, the BCLC partnered with Paddy Power to offer odds on futures and live in-play betting at PlayNow.com.

In April 2012, the BCLC announced it would supply online gaming services to the Manitoba Lotteries. The BCLC would provide site design, development, testing services and management services, while Manitoba would regulate the site. In January 2013, Playnow.com launched in Manitoba with online poker, casino games and sports betting available to Manitoba residents. Online pokers players in Manitoba also had access to players on the Canadian Poker Network.

In 2009, the BCLC introduced a program called GameSense to casinos and has since expanded the program to include all forms of betting, including online gambling. GameSense is a program designed to help people gamble more responsibly. The BCLC licenses this program in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

In 2016, OpenBet, a leading software provider to the sports betting industry, partnered with BCLC to launch Sports Pools on PlayNow.com.

In June 2018, SG Digital (Scientific Games Corporation) announced it secured an extensive sports betting solutions supplier contract with the BCLC, upgrading its entire sportsbook portfolio.

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