As ever at the Canadian Gaming Summit, the progress of Ontario’s regulated online gaming and betting market will be a major topic of discussion in Toronto this month.

More than two years after Ontario opened its doors to private openers, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) continues to innovate in its products and services, work closely on the development of robust responsible gambling and player protection measures and help to guide the future of gaming in the province.

OLG leaders including President and CEO Duncan Hannay, Chief Gaming Officer Dave Pridmore, VP of Community, Sustainability and Social Responsibility Catherine Meade, VP of iGaming and Lottery Andrew Darley and Director of Program Development and Delivery for Responsible Gambling Tyjondah Kerr will be speaking on various panels at CGS 2024.

While we wait, OLG spoke to Canadian Gaming Business at length about some of the key topics in the Canadian gaming industry today and what the corporation is looking forward to at this year’s event.

CGB: What elements of Canadian Gaming Summit work so well for your organization, and why is it important for you to be there this year?

OLG: OLG is proud to be a returning sponsor for the Canadian Gaming Summit. As an industry leader and trusted brand in the highly competitive open Ontario gaming market, our business leaders are excited to provide their powerful insights through the various panels which we expect to be relevant to the entire Canadian gambling market.

CGB: What would you highlight as the biggest opportunity in the betting and gaming industry over the next couple of years?

OLG: For OLG, the most significant prospect for the betting and gaming sector in the forthcoming years is the expansion and improvement of customer offerings for online gambling and the rise of sports wagering, which will continue to be delivered in a socially responsible manner. Continuous improvement of the online customer experience is always our goal, such as trying to make each experience unique through digital personalization methods.

OLG continues to work on the convergence of digital gaming and land-based casino experiences for our customers. We are in a unique position of overseeing land-based casinos across the province with our various casino service providers and being able to cross-promote each offering to our customers. Over the last few years, we have curated events at these facilities for our digital customers while also driving the acquisition of land-based casino patrons to our digital gaming site OLG.ca. There are still a multitude of opportunities to explore and offer in this space.

At OLG we also focus on providing experiences for our lottery customers, by introducing innovative new games and leveraging technologies offered by our lottery service providers. All these opportunities are offered by OLG and our service providers with the goal of ensuring that we continue to be a trusted provider of strong responsible gambling and compliance programs. A healthy, well-informed and socially responsible player base remains the key to a successful business for OLG and our service providers, as we all strive to contribute to a better Ontario by delivering great entertainment experiences for our customers.

CGB: What elements of your business do you feel are best placed to take advantage of that opportunity?

OLG: To seize this unique opportunity, companies in the gaming sector should concentrate on crafting top-notch offerings and OLG is uniquely poised among all others in the open market in Ontario to do this. Multiple forms of gaming in Ontario are available through or are offered in partnership with OLG, such as lotteries, digital gaming, land-based casinos, charitable gaming, and horse racing. With a strong digital foundation, an innovative service provider and a large customer base, OLG remains an instantly recognizable brand in Ontario. Combine that with being a trusted provider of strong RG and compliance programs, OLG is excited about positive growth in the years ahead which will help to contribute to a better Ontario because 100% of our profits go back to the provincial government.

CGB: What areas of the business should we be looking to for innovation in the next 12 months?

OLG: Innovation will remain a central theme for the gaming sector now and into the future. OLG is leveraging technologies to enhance our focus on customer personalization and customer experiences. OLG is currently looking at our iCasino and iLottery offerings to create new and exciting products for our customers. As mentioned, we are in a unique position of overseeing land-based casinos across the province with our various casino service providers, so being able to cross-promote digital and land-based casino experiences to our customers to cater to their evolving tastes will continue to be a goal for OLG. We will continue to undertake this growth in a socially responsible manner.

CGB: What new technology do you feel will have the biggest impact for stakeholders?

OLG: Enhancing digital personalization through new tools that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to craft immersive gaming experiences and revolutionize how players engage with online gaming platforms such as OLG.ca. AI tools will allow us to utilize the full value of data from our large customer base to improve our product delivery centred on what customers want to see. Customer preferences are also driving the general development of new technology and experiences at our land-based gaming sites. Again, this will significantly improve the cross-promotion of our digital and land-based gaming offerings to our customers.

CGB: What core challenges do you help solve for your customers/partners?

OLG: We’re about to celebrate our 50th anniversary of providing gaming entertainment in Ontario. Over that half century, we have cultivated incredible brand recognition, brand trust and our leadership in responsible gaming practices trust is serving us well in the new open provincial gaming market. This brand equity we have built allows us to continue to grow our player base despite a very crowded open market because we provide the most extensive source of gaming opportunities for Ontarians – a one stop shop for gaming entertainment. Now, combine that with evolved digital experiences that recognize customer preferences and expectations, and this could be a recipe for continued responsible growth in gaming for years to come.