BCLC reminds adults to gift responsibly this holiday season

With the holiday season in full swing, BCLC is reminding British Columbians to gift responsibly and scratch lottery products from their shopping lists for kids.

“Scratch & Win tickets can make great stocking stuffers for the adults in your life, but they’re not for kids,” said Ryan McCarthy, BCLC’s Director of Player Health. “The research shows that children who have early encounters with gambling are four times more likely to develop riskier gambling behaviour as they grow up. While people are out shopping for those last-minute gifts, BCLC wants adults to be aware of the potential risks associated with gifting lottery products to children and to consider safer alternatives.”

While Scratch & Win tickets are among the most common ways kids can be introduced to gambling, children are increasingly exposed to various online forms, such as gambling streams.

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“With the convergence of gaming and gambling, youth are becoming more exposed to gambling content in online spaces like streaming sites, where creators are able to live-stream their own gambling, usually while playing online slots and instant games,” said Dr. Luke Clark, Director for Gambling Research at UBC. “Our research at the UBC Centre for Gambling shows that a higher frequency of watching online gambling streams is associated with a more positive attitude towards gambling and a high intention to gamble in the future.”

In B.C., it is illegal to sell lottery products to anyone under the age of 19 and BCLC encourages adults to have conversations with the kids in their lives about the risks associated with gambling.

“Open and honest conversations are crucial when it comes to navigating childhood exposure to gambling,” said McCarthy, who shared the following tips to adults:

• Monitor for gambling-related lifestyle changes. For example, developing a positive attitude towards gambling or a preoccupation with video games or streaming sites.
• Be a positive role model. Exhibit safer gambling behaviour and talk about the risks.
• Limit exposure. Monitor kids’ online activities and discourage engagement with gambling content. Explain how gambling is based on chance.

INTRALOT S.A. has announced the undertaking of a new project between the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the sole lottery operator for the Government of British Columbia in Canada, and INTRALOT Inc., its US subsidiary, for the provision of an online lottery platform. The project also includes the digitalization of the existing land-based network.

The solution will be based on the Player X platform, part of the Lotos X ecosystem, and adds to the company’s overall partnership with BCLC, which has been extended until 2028.

INTRALOT is a leading player in a changing world of gaming. With significant experience in looking forward and anticipating emerging trends, the company provides future-proof solutions to regulated lottery and gaming operators around the world.

Partnership will create dedicated specialist team to develop and deploy AI to improve player experiences across gaming products and channels.

BCLC has partnered with Future Anthem, a UK-based gambling data science specialist, on the creation of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Innovation Hub (the “Hub”), to be located at BCLC’s Vancouver office.

The Hub will focus on the development of AI, data capabilities and programs designed to improve the player experience across all BCLC gambling platforms, including lottery, gaming, and sports. It will employ a team of data and product professionals, with access to Future Anthem’s Data Science platform.

“BCLC is excited to be partnering with Future Anthem to create the first AI innovation hub in B.C. focused on the gambling industry,” says Mark Goldberg, BCLC’s Chief Information Officer. “We know that the key components of the Hub will be its data driven research and software product development to support player engagement and experience, safer play and improved game design – core BCLC business areas.”

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Managed in partnership through a joint Steering Committee that includes senior representatives from both BCLC and Future Anthem, the Hub will create and cultivate highly specialized, Vancouver-based AI technology jobs utilising Future Anthem’s strong experience in building teams focused on AI research and development, complemented by a small team of BCLC employees with skills and experience in this area.

“This dynamic partnership combines our expertise, reach, and technologies and allows us to harness AI for good – to bring true and measurable benefits to players in a responsible, sustainable, and enjoyable manner,” says Leigh Nissim, CEO and Founder of Future Anthem. “With access to more data across all verticals and channels to build amazing machine learning models and AI applications, I am confident this collaboration will quickly deliver benefits to BCLC and its players to reinforce its lead position within lotteries globally.”

As well as recruiting the team in Vancouver, Future Anthem will deploy its market-leading real time AI platform locally to employ best practices for AI product development and governance within the Hub, which includes protocols to ensure transparency of AI use, data security, and management of AI models and their player impact. These models are designed to use anonymised data that is stored in Canada.