Major North American Bingo Network to Launch in Canada

By: Russell Potvin, July 8, 2014

Canada has been making some serious moves in the online gambling world over the past few years, and they have been making the revenues to prove it. In a new move, they are looking to put together the largest online bingo network in North America thanks to a project that involves both the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Loto-Quebec. With such a major multi-state operation in the works, some major expertise will be required, and that's where GTECH comes in. They are the holders of a four-year contract that has them running these games.

GTECH is the perfect selection for a number of reasons. First off, they already worth with both Loto-Quebec and the BCLC with their online poker network (the Canadian Poker Network). This means that they are already familiar with each other and have processes set that can help them to push this network along with a lot of the bugs already worked out for how to make this kind of operation work. Second, GTECH's existing data centers are going to be used for the bingo operation, so there are some savings there as well. This all means that the project will be coming together sooner rather than later.

Bingo offers a pretty big market that is harder to catch with skill-based games like poker that require a lot of practice and study to win. Anyone can win in a bingo game, and that's why it's such a popular genre. It's much like slots in this regard, and it's also similar in that there are several different types of the same game with different themes and ways to get paid. Overall, it's the perfect addition to the government-operated online gambling services already available to Canadian players.

When it comes to bingo, there are a few different types based around how many balls are used. The main types are 75-ball, 80-ball and 90-ball. Each of these three types have different formats with varying objectives, and this is how these games are a lot like slots. Along these lines, there are also measures in the deal for GTECH to offer other "mini games" in the bingo lobby between games for players to enjoy, so it could turn out that slots and other games are included in the software for this network as well. Only time will tell on the details.