Canada
Loto-Québec announces the dates and conditions for the reopening of its gaming establishments, as well as the cost-saving measures affecting its operations and personnel
Loto-Québec will gradually reopen its establishments according to the following schedule, with operations adjusted to comply with physical distancing and hygiene standards:
- Hilton Lac-Leamy: July 13
- Casino de Charlevoix, Casino de Mont-Tremblant, Québec and Trois-Rivières gaming halls: July 16
- Casino du Lac Leamy: July 23
- Casino de Montréal: August 3
- VLT and Kinzo network: July 7
- Network bingo: July 3
As establishments reopen, the Corporation’s top priority will be to ensure that operations resume in such a way as to allow employees and customers to stay safe while enjoying a fun environment.
Rigorous safety measures, modified opening hours and an online reservation system
When Loto-Québec’s establishments reopen, customers will notice the following important changes to operations and on gaming floors, including:
- New online reservation system for customers
- Casino sectors will be limited to a maximum of 250 customers at a time
- Québec City gaming hall(250 customers)
- Trois-Rivières gaming hall(250 customers)
- Casino de Charlevoix(250 customers)
- Casino de Mont-Tremblant(250 customers)
- Casino du Lac-Leamy(4 sectors with 250 customers = 1,000)
- Casino de Montréal(6 sectors with 250 customers = 1,500)
- Complete disinfection of each establishment every day and cleaning of gaming machines between customers
- All employees on gaming floors required to wear procedural mask and, when required under CNESST standards, eye protection
- Customers required to wear a mask or face covering
- Directional signage people must follow to get from one location to another and two-metre physical distancing signage
- Reconfiguration of gaming floors:
- Slot machine activation that ensures physical distancing
- Reduced number of players at gaming tables and installation of protective panels between the dealer and players
- Availability of rubber-tipped stylets to avoid touching slot machines
- No handling of cards or chips by the customer
- Bars and show halls to remain closed for the time being
- Snack food service only
- New opening hours:
Casino de Mont-Tremblant and Casino de Charlevoix | Casino du Lac-Leamy and Casino de Montréal | Québec City and Trois-Rivières gaming halls |
Thursday: 11 a.m. to midnight
Friday: 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to midnight |
Every day: 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. | Monday to Wednesday:
10 a.m. to midnight Thursday to Sunday: 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. |
All information on the reopening and applicable measures is available at https://casinos.lotoquebec.com/en/portal/establishments.
Savings measures affecting operations and personnel
Since the COVID-19 crisis has been affecting Loto-Québec’s commercial operations for over three months already and despite the announcement of the upcoming gradual reopening, the Corporation is forced to apply savings measures to its operations and all personnel. The decision was made in order to align staffing needs with the level of activities.
Indeed, casinos, gaming halls, video lottery terminals (VLTs) and Kinzo halls have been closed since March, and in-store lottery sales were suspended for six weeks, all of which resulted in a significant reduction in the Corporation’s activities and revenues. Loto-Québec must therefore revise operations to meet the pace at which commercial activities resume.
In an effort to maintain employment and expertise, the Corporation will implement measures that affect management personnel and employees as well as operating and capital budgets in corporate and business sectors. The measures to be implemented are as follows:
- Significant reduction in operating and capital budgets in all corporate and business sectors for 2020-2021
- Temporary layoffs in various sectors (particularly 2,250 operations employees in casinos and gaming halls)
- Cancellation of supernumerary employee contracts
- Salary freeze and cancellation of all bonuses for management personnel for 2020-2021
- Hiring freeze
- Temporary reduction of the work week
Meetings with management personnel, union representatives and employees from all sectors were held yesterday and today to inform them of the decisions, explain the situation and address concerns.
Canada
Hacksaw Gaming and Caesars Digital Partner to Launch Online Casino Games in Ontario
Launch brings Hacksaw Gaming titles to Caesars Palace Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Ontario
Hacksaw Gaming today announced its first market launch with Caesars Digital in North America, in the regulated iGaming province of Ontario, Canada. The new partnership marks the exciting launch of new games on Caesars Palace Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in the province.
This new partnership, a first between the two companies, will bring familiar titles to online casino players and will be followed by a dedicated roadmap for additional launches in more jurisdictions in 2024, showcasing the entire Hacksaw Gaming catalog. The first release of games includes Hacksaw Gaming classics Wanted Dead or a Wild, RIP City, Hand of Anubis and Mines.
“Forging partnerships with new faces is always an exciting time but the influence of Caesars Digital is one we pride,” the Chief Executive Officer for Hacksaw Gaming, Marcus Cordes, said. “Launching this partnership in Ontario is the perfect place to begin our journey.”
“Hacksaw Gaming brings an exciting catalog of games to our platforms that should provide a thrilling experience for our players,” the Senior Vice-President and Chief iGaming Officer for Caesars Digital, Matthew Sunderland, said. “We’re excited to see how our players engage with this content in Ontario and in jurisdictions in the future through our new partnership.”
Canada
BET99 Partners with U.S. Integrity
U.S. Integrity announced a comprehensive partnership with BET99, a leading online sportsbook in the Canadian market.
“The integrity of the sports betting experience at BET99 is of utmost importance, and we are thrilled to be working with U.S. Integrity as we ensure an optimal and secure online experience for the Canadian market. U.S. Integrity’s proactive approach to maintaining integrity will play an important role in detecting potentially suspicious wagering activity,” Jared Beber, CEO of BET99, said.
U.S. Integrity conducts analysis across dozens of data sets to proactively identify irregular contest-level, officiating & wagering patterns, and will provide integrity monitoring services via its proprietary dashboard to BET99.
“U.S. Integrity is proud to partner with BET99 and assist as they grow their brand across the Canadian regulated sports wagering market. U.S. Integrity’s mission is to provide conflict-free, best in class insights & compliance solutions to our clients. We are looking forward to working with the exceptional team at BET99. All our partners are committed to the highest integrity standards, and they are no exception. These types of partnerships help ensure sports betting integrity and strengthen the unique & proprietary anomaly detection tools we have developed at U.S. Integrity,” Matthew Holt, CEO & co-founder of U.S. Integrity, said.
Canada
Relax Gaming to support Rhino Entertainment Group’s Big Boost
Relax Gaming, the renowned iGaming aggregator and provider of unique content, will power Rhino Entertainment Group’s latest brand, Big Boost.
This is the company’s fifth brand, and is available now in Finland, Norway, and Canada. The group has enjoyed acclaimed success throughout the industry with other brands in its portfolio including Lucky Spins and Casino Days.
Big Boost is a value-driven online casino that offers a wide variety of games, including slots, table games, and live dealer games.
In addition to the array of games, there will also be a variety of other promotions, including daily cashback, raffles and free spins.
Nadiya Attard, CCO of Relax Gaming, commented: “Big Boost is a meticulously designed platform that we believe will give our content extra exposure in key markets such as North America and the Nordics.
“Our long and fruitful partnership with Rhino Entertainment Group makes this new venture all the more exciting and we’re looking forward to seeing our players enjoy even better entertainment experiences.”
Ross Parkhill, CEO of Rhino Entertainment Group, said: “We are excited to launch Big Boost, our newest online casino brand. Big Boost is designed to offer players a great user experience, with a wide variety of games and excellent promotions. We are confident that Big Boost will be a popular choice for players in our markets.”
Established as one of the industry’s leading B2B suppliers, Relax Gaming was awarded GGA’s Product Launch of the Year in February 2023 for Dream Drop Jackpots.
Relax’s Money Train 3 won Slot of the Year at the 2023 CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards, while the brand secured Gold for Skill Games Supplier at the 2023 EGR B2B Awards, along with Innovation in Mobile at the 2023 SBC Awards.
In total, Relax Gaming provides more than 4,000 online casino games, from its high-performing proprietary slots to a significant, varied library of content from hand-picked third-party studios via its partnership programmes.
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