While sharing gifts with family and friends is a wonderful tradition during the holiday season, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) reminds parents and adults that all lottery products, including INSTANT tickets, are a form of gambling and are not suitable gifts for children and minors.

While lottery products make great gift ideas for a variety of special occasions, these products are for adults only. It’s vital that parents and adults understand the proven risks and impacts associated with underage gambling. If you decide to buy lottery gifts for friends and family, please ensure the recipients are at least 18 years of age and older.

There is extensive free information and various resources available dealing with youth and gambling:

The YMCA Youth Gambling Awareness Program (YGAP) is a free service funded by Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to raise awareness among youth of gambling risks, how to make informed decisions, and healthy, active lifestyles.

Advertisement

The Gambling, Gaming and Technology Use (GGTU) program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) supports addictions and mental health service providers through continuing professional development, digital tools and resources, and facilitating knowledge mobilization activities related to problem gambling, video gaming, and internet addiction.

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC), an independent non-profit organization focused on the prevention of problem gambling in Canada and worldwide, with information on Teens or Young Adults and gambling.

Also, OLG’s award winning PlaySmart.ca program can help parents understand the facts when it comes to games, and concepts like odds and randomness. There’s also a “Finding Help” section with links to the support resources above and more.

OLG has supported the Holiday Campaign from the National Council of Problem Gambling and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) for many years, which encourages lotteries in Canada, US, and around the world to promote the important message that lottery products are not suitable for children at any time.

Bojoko.ca, a leading online casino comparison site in Canada, has announced its best-ever performance since launching in 2021. October 2024 marked a new milestone for the platform, recording the highest number of First Time Depositors (FTDs) and the most significant commission earnings in its history.

The number of FTDs surged with 35% growth from what was already the all-time best result in September. This achievement cements Bojoko.ca’s position as a trusted leader in the Canadian iGaming industry, providing users with transparent and user-centric resources for finding the best online casino experiences.

In addition to the record-breaking FTDs, Bojoko.ca saw its highest-ever monthly commissions, underscoring the platform’s exceptional performance and the trust it has built with users and partners.

Joonas Karhu, CEO of Bojoko, said: “This is a proud moment for Bojoko.ca and the entire team. Since launching in 2021, our mission has been to empower our users to discover safe casinos that match their criteria, and this record-breaking month demonstrates that we have earned the trust of Canadian players. We could not be more excited and are more committed than ever to raising the bar in the iGaming industry.”

Advertisement

awager’s live-stream solution brings physical slot machine games online, delivering an authentic casino experience remotely. Today, awager proudly announces the launch of its latest product version with Loto-Québec. Building on two successful years with awager’s second product version, this latest release introduces an advanced solution that brings the realism of the casino floor to players’ devices, offering an even more immersive experience through awager’s enhanced technology.

This product launch features awager’s unique “Casino-in-Casino” solution, part of a suite of offerings designed to deliver real-time, physical casino experience. A dedicated studio has been built on the Casino de Montréal floor.

This product version aims to bring the most authentic online casino experience yet. With a multitude of camera angles, real-time player engagement, full machine interaction, 4K video streaming with minimal lag, and full sound capture, players can enjoy an immersive session that captures the spirit of the casino. Additionally, a 3D video simulation was created, allowing players to “walk through” the Casino de Montréal when they enter the awager lobby, providing a true-to-life ambience for a realistic experience.

This launch strengthens a partnership with Loto-Québec that began in 2022, when awager’s second product version first captivated players. With its third version now live, awager and Loto-Québec are set to continue their successful collaboration, elevating digital casino gaming for players across Québec.

Warren Steven, GM of North America for awager: We are proud to work alongside Loto-Québec and to provide the province’s players with the most advanced and exciting casino technology on the market.

Advertisement

We truly believe that the third version of our product is the most innovative yet and that there is nothing else quite like it on the market. It immerses players in the online casino environment and provides a unique experience, blurring the line between land-based and online casino action.

The Canadian market is a key strategic market for awager in North America, and it is a privilege to work alongside Loto-Québec and provide its customers with this exciting new experience.

François Hardy, Senior Director of Products and Innovation at Loto-Québec: At Loto-Québec, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to entertain our players. We want to be able to provide them with the latest technology and gaming on the market. Awager’s product perfectly aligns with this vision, enabling us to provide a refreshing and dynamic experience to our players.