We recently reported here at Online Casino Canada that Ontario and more specifically the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) were looking seriously at the prospect of moving into legal online gambling for residents and the first part of the planned developments have now come to fruition. Boss Media AG, the online gaming arm of Spielo International, has announced that it has officially been selected by OLG as the online systems provider for the recently announced online gambling platform.
Spielo is wholly owned by the Lottomatica Group and has a track record of designing and developing not only games but also full casino management platforms and solutions for both the land based and online industries. It already has a strong presence in North America, with a licence to distribute and install gaming machines in 25 states across the US, including Nevada and is also one of the most prominent suppliers to Native American gambling organisations across both the US and Canada. It also has notable experience in working with governmental bodies for legal gambling, having recently signed an agreement with Norsk Tipping, a government owned body in Norway that runs the official state lottery and also offers sports betting across the country. The deal shares many similarities to the newly signed partnership with OLG, as both see official government operated bodies getting involved in legal online gambling for the first time.
The addition of regulated online games to the Canadian market is well known as being part of an overall modernisation plan put in place by the OLG and the requirements of the partnership were certainly not lost on Walter Bugno, President and CEO of Spielo international when he said, “Spielo G2 is pleased to provide a solution that will support and enhance the OLG’s modernisation plan to become a more innovative and sustainable organisation. We will ensure that their entry into the online gaming space meets those goals by providing products and services that will delight players, while adhering to the highest standards of responsible gaming.” Rod Phillips, President and CEO of OLG echoed the sentiments by calling the development “an exciting step in OLG’s modernisation.”
Regular readers here at Online Casino Canada will be aware that the tendering process was available to the public and OLG opted for Spielo on the strength of their established presence in the market and knowledge of government run gaming as illustrated above. The agreement spans five years, comprising a three year supply contract and two year extension option and will initially see Spielo G2 providing their Gaming Management and Player Account Management systems to OLG. Both are highly regarded in the industry not only for the quality of the systems themselves, but also the market leading integration of responsible gambling and player protection features – something that has always been a crucial cornerstone of OLG’s move into the online space. These systems are of course backed up by the entire portfolio of online games currently offered by Spielo G2, with options for all new releases throughout the course of the contract. The use of the full Spielo backend means that the OLG simply has to approve new additions to the gaming suite for them to be added within minutes.
Spielo’s reputation throughout Canada was greatly enhanced when they launched the Canadian Poker Network in December 2010 in conjunction with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Loto-Quebec. This was the first legal poker room network in North America and attracted interest from across the continent with government departments in the neighbouring US keeping a close eye on the viability and validity of such a network. It has continued to go from strength to strength, with Manitoba Lotteries becoming the latest territory to join the scheme as recently as January 2013.
While poker is a noted passion across North America, the agreement between the OLG and Spielo G2 will undoubtedly be considered as something of a landmark for online gaming not only in Canada but across the whole of North America. Although the overall system that is to be delivered to the public is still in the early stages of development, you can be sure of staying up to date with all of the latest news surrounding this brand new Canadian online casino platform right here at Online Casino Canada.
