British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and Canucks Sports & Entertainment (CSE) have extended their wide-ranging partnership.

BCLC’s PlayNow Sports is the official sports betting partner of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team, as well as the team’s AHL affiliate the Abbotsford Canucks and the Vancouver Warriors lacrosse team. CSE and BCLC’s PlayNow Sports Predict the Play is a season-long contest that runs through every pre-season and regular-season game. Fans can follow along on leaderboards to track their progress against other Canucks fans and win prizes throughout the season.

In addition, the contract extension expands BCLC’s Community Heroes program across the province.

The program recognizes and honours the outstanding contributions of everyday heroes in their home communities. Nominated Community Heroes and their guests will be provided with tickets to a Canucks home game and Canucks jerseys along with the opportunity to crank the Rogers Arena siren as players hit the ice. Heroes who do not reside near to Vancouver will have their flights and accommodation paid for.

“We are thrilled to further our partnership with BCLC and PlayNow Sports and continue supporting the work they do raising funds for communities across the province,” said CSE President Michael Doyle. “This partnership will once again allow our fans to get closer to the game while helping support BCLC and their goal to raise funds for a wealth of important programs.”

“BCLC is proud and excited to strengthen our partnership with CSE,” said BCLC President and CEO Pat Davis. “Together, we’re giving fans increased opportunities to interact with their favourite teams, honouring local heroes from across the province, amplifying our community impact to generate win-wins for the greater good. Thanks to our players, many of them Canucks fans, we’ve been able to help the province distribute billions of dollars to programs and services across B.C.”

BCLC keeps partnerships in play

As well as the extension with CSE, BCLC has extended several other partnerships across a range of verticals in the last few months.

In June, it completed the full migration of its retail lottery system to Intralot’s LotosX Omni ecosystem, expanding Intralot’s reach in North America and making the BCLC one of the first lotteries in the world to integrate a fully cloud-based system.

And in the last couple of weeks alone, the crown corporation has announced numerous notable moves.

On the iGaming side, BCLC launched the brand-new omnichannel Money Mania slot game from International Game Technology (IGT) on PlayNow.com site and at 22 BCLC-governed casinos throughout the province. BCLC became the first gaming operator in the world to offer an omnichannel jackpot game in 2016 when it partnered with IGT for the launch of Powerbucks slots.

And on the technology and operational front, the lottery is working hand-in-hand with UK-based gambling data science specialist Future Anthem on a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Innovation Hub, with a view to collaborating on improving BCLC’s player experience through tech and data capabilities.

The new hub will be located within BCLC’s Vancouver office and will utilize a purpose-built team, working under the supervision of a joint steering committee comprised of senior representatives from both organizations.

BCLC also debuted its new digital-first PROLINE sportsbook last week in time for the new NFL season.