Although Nova Scotia is one of the Atlantic Lottery’s shareholders, citizens of the province were not among those the company said would receive exclusive bets under its Pro•Line logo in August.

Atlantic Lottery Corporation made a monumental announcement on August 27 last year: After years of sportsArray, the company now presented sports on a single occasion in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

However, a call from the announcement is missing. While Nova Scotia is one of Atlantic Lottery’s shareholders, the province’s citizens were not among those the company said would receive exclusive bets under its Pro•Line brand.

And that’s still the case, as singles game bets still can’t be placed through the Atlantic Lottery in Nova Scotia. In addition, forma bets for singles are not presented at all in Nova Scotia through provincially licensed online sportsbooks.

“This is under review and discussions are underway to help with the process that Nova Scotia will take,” government spokesman Gary Andrea told Covers in a recent email.

Although provincial governments were only recently allowed to offer single-game betting, which was because federal lawmakers eventually passed a bill allowing provinces to do so last summer, ending Canada’s favorite style of sports gambling, Nova Scotia is the country. unique without a legal channel for this type of betting.

Nova Scotia’s slower procedure for discovering its technique for a single game doesn’t mean the province’s citizens don’t either.

One of the main reasons for the passage of Bill C-218 in the federal Parliament last summer to capture part of the Canadian betting business that went to foreign and illegal bookmakers, whose price was estimated at billions of dollars in bets. These sports betting may be regulated somewhere, but not through nova Scotia authorities.

“Many Atlantic Canadians are already participating in sports on a single occasion through many unauthorized sports internet sites that actively market in our region,” said Patrick Daigle, president and CEO of Atlantic Lottery, in the Aug. 27 press release. “By providing this option for Pro•Line players, Atlantic Lottery will retain more sports winnings in our region while providing players with world-class culprit gaming features.

The lottery also noted at the same time that it depends on each province which products will be presented to players and how they will be manufactured to have them within its borders.

“Atlantic Lottery is discussing with its provincial shareholders the next steps to offer this option across Atlantic Canada,” the company added.

But Nova Scotia also had a provincial election in mid-August last year, just before amendments to the Penal Code allowing single-game sports went into effect.

The election resulted in a new progressive Conservative government that still faces the demanding situations of the current COVID-19 pandemic and (perhaps due to the pandemic) has yet to make a decision for singles.

“Sports on a single occasion are being discussed and evaluated lately with the new Nova Scotia government,” Atlantic Lottery spokesman Greg Weston told Covers in December.

It remains to be noted what other approaches, if any, Nova Scotia could add to Atlantic Lottery’s Pro•Line products. For example, there are casinos in the province that could one day host sports betting, but there are no indications yet. that they will be.

It is also conceivable that Nova Scotia would take a broader approach; in Ontario, for example, a competitive market for sports betting and internet casino games is developing. However, again, there is no indication that this style is being studied lately in Nova Scotia.

In the meantime, Atlantic Lottery may be encouraged by the addition of the unique game to its business, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

The Company announced in October that it had returned $346. 5 million to its 4 provincial shareholders for the year ended March 31, 2021, a decrease of $48. 9 million from last year. The decrease in winnings is basically due to the security measures implemented to combat COVID-19, adding a temporary closure of operations in the “destination” commercial sector of the lottery.

“Atlantic Lottery continues to invest in its virtual channels and strives to modernize the experience of our players so that we can continue to compete in this highly competitive market and maximize long-term profits,” Daigle said in a statement. “This hub has helped us pivot COVID-19 and identify tactics to continue to provide our players with exceptional delights despite service interruptions. “