BCLC Planning Mobile Gambling App
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is going forward with its plans to develop a mobile application for the province's only official online gambling website, PlayNow.com.
But while some politicians in the province have expressed their concerns about the introduction of the BCLC mobile gambling app, the corporation has come out to explain that the product will simply be an expansion of its online gambling site.
The BCLC is tapping into the increasingly growing mobile gambling market and wants to expand access to PlayNow.com. At present over 3,000 people log onto the site every day, and, with the increase in the number of Canadians who have smartphones, a growing number want to enjoy gambling on the go via the site.
Some opponents, however, have stated that certain aspects about BCLC's mobile gambling app concern them, especially issues such as age verification.
However, the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Michael Graydon addressed these concerns by saying: "Because it is utilizing PlayNow.com, you have to have an account which has been third party verified in regards to your age and residency."
When asked what would happen if someone steals the smartphone, he had a reply for that as well: "You still have to have all the passwords to able to access PlayNow.com. So, nothing really is going to reside within that phone; it's just a device to connect to PlayNow.com and all the security components within that."
BCLC Mobile Gambling Application Criticized
Meanwhile, gaming critic and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Hastings, Shane Simpson, wasn't comforted by Graydon's reassurances and said that he was concerned that the new gambling application would encourage youngsters to wager more.
"They [young Canadians] live on their iPhones," he said. "The second thing is that we know there has been security issues surrounding the site. We knew that on day one when it crashed."
Simpson was referring to PlayNow.com's jumpy start when security issues forced it to shut down after only a few hours of operation. The site stayed closed for several months thereafter until it was able to prove beyond a doubt that its players' personal and financial details were 100% safe. No further incidences concerning the site have been reported since then.
Simpson also said that youngsters see going online as "part of their culture."
"This [mobile gambling app] does encourage young people in that way, and I haven't seen the best practices arguments from BCLC or from the ministers and the Liberals that they are acknowledging that," he said.
