Ontario Lottery Sales System Eyed For Upgrade By Government

Ontario’s government is hoping to sell more lottery tickets and is looking for a company to help it do so.

The lottery currently brings in about $850 million of the $2 billion a year the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. brings the provincial government. However, it is using an out of date network of just 10,000 terminals, mostly placed in convenience stores.

The problem the OLG is facing is that most customers at convenience stores are aging and they are hoping to attract younger customers to play the lottery. As a result they want to be able to sell tickets online and in larger retailers and this requires a major overhaul of the ticketing system.

The OLG is currently seeking bids to take over day-to-day operations of the entire Ontario lottery system and the winning bidder will be expected to invest in replacing the sales system. There is reportedly a shortlist of pre-qualified bidders, but the government is keeping it secret. However, the work requires secure telecommunications expertise which means it’s likely that telecom giants such as Rogers and Bell are likely to be on the list.