Winnipeg to Roll Out Downtown Gambling Center
Residents of the Canadian province of Manitoba are being offered several new ways to gamble, after land and online opportunities were rolled out in recent days.
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Manitoba Lotteries has launched the province's first regulated real money online gambling site, PlayNow.com, comes the news that the lottery corporation will be opening a high end gaming center and sports bar in downtown Winnipeg by the summer.
According to Manitoba Lotteries, the new Winnipeg gambling center will be conveniently located in a shopping mall and will feature slot machines and card tables.
While Manitoba Lotteries will operate the facility, it is owned by True North Sports and Entertainment - owners of the professional ice hockey team, Winnipeg Jets, as well as MTS Center.
Nobody was willing to say how much of the revenues generated by the new gambling center would go to True North Sports and Entertainment, however it is believed that the group will make millions through the deal.
High Stakes Gambling
A spokesperson for Manitoba Lotteries, Susan Olynik told the media that the lottery corporation was not calling the gambling center a 'casino' due to the fact that it offered high stakes gambling, setting it apart from other casino facilities in the area.
"It's a unique facility that will be adjacent to a sports bar, so
it will be different from the casinos that you see here in Winning," she said.
"We will have the same kind of processes and procedures and security in place
that we do at our other facilities."
To balance out the legal number of video lottery terminals allowed in the area, Manitoba Lotteries will remove 50 of these machines from the Tavern United bar and give permission for the placement of 140 slot machines which offer higher payout rates than regular VLT's in the Winnipeg gambling center. In addition, the facility will include two poker tables and four blackjack tables.
Manitoba Lotteries has insisted that the new gambling center will be tightly regulated, as are the other two existing casinos in Winnipeg.
Online Gambling Comes to Manitoba
In the meantime, gamblers in Manitoba can start placing bets at the newly launched online gambling site, PlayNow.com.
The idea to launch an internet based gambling site was first announced in 2012, and it is being operated together with British Columbia, using this province's online gambling software platform.
In this way, the Manitoba government hopes to keep some of the $37 million spent each year by Manitobans on online gambling within the province's borders.
