Prince Edward Island has made online poker and virtual slot machines available to residents with a P.E.I. phone number or address, ending a long period in which Islanders could only buy lottery tickets and play some games of chance through the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
In a statement to CBC News, the province said its goal is to “provide Islanders who choose to game online with a safer way to play.” It also said P.E.I. is the last Atlantic province to make online gaming available, following New Brunswick in 2020, Nova Scotia in 2022 and Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023.
Atlantic Lottery said its aim is to shift players away from illegal sites and back to alc.ca, which it described as legal, regulated and responsible. The corporation added that Canadians in every other province can already access online casino games in a legal, government-regulated environment through provincial gambling commissions or lottery corporations.
The change lands against a wider concern in the province about offshore gambling and the risks of rapid-paced games. P.E.I.’s responsible-gambling strategy, “Navigating the Waters: A Strategy for Socially Responsible Gambling on PEI,” says gambling carries inherent health and social risks, and that continuous, fast games are linked with higher risks of harm.
Released in 2023, the strategy is meant to guide gaming products and services for Islanders over five years. It says government and Atlantic Lottery can reduce harm by limiting access to higher-risk games and using evidence-based measures to promote lower-risk behaviour, and it sets out five priority actions: Safe, Healthy and Positive Play; Increased Literacy Around Safer Gambling; Balance Access with Player Protection; Inclusive Programs and Services; and Minimize Harms from Gambling.
The strategy also says more than $100 million leaves the Atlantic region each year for unregulated and illegal offshore gambling sites. It says websites such as bet365 and JackpotCity dominate the online market despite being run by offshore companies with no authority to conduct and manage lottery programs in P.E.I., and that 9% of people on the island are at risk of some level of harm from gambling.
Nigel Turner said there is “some truth” to the government’s argument, because people can be more confident they will get their money if they cash out. But he said legitimacy also draws more people online, which raises the chance that some will become problem gamblers.
“Any time you increase the availability or the ease with which you can gamble, you’re going to increase the chance that some people will develop a gambling problem,” he said. He added that the faster the turnaround from one bet to the next, the more problematic the game tends to be, and warned that sports betting is becoming riskier as more “micro bets” are offered during games.
Turner said slot machines, whether online or in person, remain the biggest source of losses because players can bet every few seconds. He said people who have difficulty controlling their gambling should be able to exclude themselves from gambling marketing and from the sites themselves, and pointed to a “continuum of care” that includes helplines, Gamblers Anonymous, counselling and group therapy.
Confidential support in P.E.I. is available through the P.E.I. Gambling and Gaming Support Line at 1-855-255-4255 or at healthyplaypei.ca.
The PEI Lotteries Commission annual report says the commission was established in 1976 under the Lotteries Commission Act and is mandated to develop, organize, undertake, conduct and manage lottery schemes on behalf of the province. It says the commission delegated its duties to Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which was incorporated in 1976 under the Canada Business Corporations Act and is jointly owned by the four Atlantic provinces.
The annual report says the commission released the responsible-gambling strategy on 14 September 2023, then spent the first six months meeting the leads responsible for implementing each priority action, discussing expected results and performance indicators. It says additional staff were needed for implementation and that a request was approved for submission as part of PEILC 2024-25 budget planning.
It also says funding for the Department of Health and Wellness’s Gambling Support Unit rose to $470,665 in 2023-24 from $191,920 in 2022-23. The report says ALC’s gross gaming revenue grew in 2023-24, but the corporation lost overall market share to illegal gambling sites.
