According to Tom Williamson of the BCLC, the lottery corporation is due for some in coming years. While the lottery and land-based markets have become stagnant, he believes that the BCLC will benefit most from its new online gambling website, PlayNow.com.
Over the course of the past decade, construction of new casinos and renovations of existing casinos helped the BCLC boost its profits to numbers in the billions. However, Williamson states that the province is “built out” and there is no more room for growth in the land-based gambling market in British Columbia. There is only room for about 2% more growth every year on-going.
The online gambling market, on the other hand, presents room for a great deal of growth. PlayNow.com was only launched in 2010 and has seen tremendous success in its time. Last year’s revenues were about $40 million and Williamson predicts that they will be nearly double by the end of 2012. He believes that the online sector will see 50% growth every year moving forward.
It’s no wonder that Ontario wants to follow suit and launch its own online gambling website. It has proven itself to be a very profitable prospect.
