Atlantic Lottery Continues Expansion Strategy
A week after pulling the plug on its GeoSweep online lottery game, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has announced that it is continuing to seek expansion opportunities in order to generate cash flow.
Atlantic Lottery, which represents the governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, has an expansion strategy in place which it plans to continue, despite the failure of GeoSweep.
According to the Chief Financial Officer of Atlantic Lotto, Patrick Daigle: "If succeeding 100% of the time were the goal, there would be no innovation, there would be no growth, and certainly we wouldn't be well positioned for the future, because consumer tastes are evolving and demographics are changing."
Daigle pointed out that a lack of growth will seriously affect cash flows to the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, especially since Atlantic Lotto is no longer a monopoly.
GeoSweep Failed as an Online Lottery Game
Unfortunately, Atlantic Lottery's first attempt to expand and invest in such a venture failed miserably.
After looking at opportunities from Illinois to Albania, the group settled on an investment in the UK based company, Roboreus, (now known as Geonomics). Atlantic Lottery spent $8.7 million investing in Roboreus and adopted its GeoSweep online lottery game.
Last week, the lottery corporation announced that it was dropping the game from its lineup due to lack of popularity, although it rushed to assure the public that its investment in Geonomics was "sound".
Daigle would not provide any information about other investments when prodded by a CBC reporter regarding Atlantic Lottery expansion.
CBC Seeks More Online Gaming Opportunities
"I'm not at liberty to disclose pieces of new business that are under development within our private-sector supply chain and potential strategic partners, but I can tell you that the gaming industry is a growth industry, and there are many opportunities around the world," said Daigle.
Daigle also said 'growing' for Atlantic Lottery Corporation was "all about relevance".
"It's about staying relevant to players, " he said. "When we looked at various strategic directions, this is the best option that increases cash flow and protects the player, contributes to economic development."
One option is for Atlantic Lotto to leverage its expertise to provide lottery services to others, and all these opportunities are being considered as the lottery corporation continues to look ahead.
