As the calendar year is just a few days away from ending, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation has prepared a new set of novelty wagers for its players on PlayNow.com. Locals can now place their wagers on which hospital will welcome the first baby in 2023. And once more the B.C. Women’s Hospital is the bettors’ choice with 3.50 odds.
PlayNow is the province’s only regulated online gaming platform whose proceeds are invested back into the province’s important sectors such as healthcare, education, and community programs. Also, the website features numerous safeguards to protect players, as it offers session reminders, time and weekly deposit limits, as well as the Crown’s renowned GameSense program.
B.C. Women’s Hospital Leads the Way
On PlayNow, this year’s odds-on the location of the first baby is again in favour of the B.C. Women’s Hospital with 3.50. This is no surprise, as the institution is one of the busiest maternity care centres in the province. With the current 3.50 odds, a successful CA$10 wager on the hospital to welcome the first baby of 2023 will payout a bet of CA$35.
According to the gaming website, other favourites for the first newborn British Columbian include the Surrey Memorial with 5.00. The hospital delivered the first baby of the New Year in 2018. Other favourites from the list, include New Westminster’s Royal Columbian Hospital, which saw the birth of the first provincial baby in both 2019 and 2020.
However, after the upset of last year, several other B.C. hospitals such as those from outside the Lower Mainland should not be taken out of the equation for having the first baby of 2023. This includes the Victoria General Hospital with 11.00 odds, which welcomed the first baby of 2022, as well as the Kelowna General Hospital with 18.00 and Royal Inland Hospital with 28.00.
Bettors of the B.C. should know that the wagering for the first baby in the province for 2023 will be available on the gaming platform until 6:00 a.m. PST on December 31, 2022. In addition to that, bettors should be familiar with the fact that the current odds on PlayNow can be subject to change as the deadline draws near.
BCLC’s PlayNow features tons of novelty wagers as well as betting on traditional sports, such as the widely popular NHL. At the start of the regular season, the website released its odds, which favoured the Vancouver Canucks to make it to the postseason playoffs with then-odds of 1.76. The team will rely on its star centre Elias Pettersson and JT Miller who have odds of scoring 30 goals at 2.50.
Lottery is Not for Kids
As a socially responsible provider of casino and lottery entertainment, the BCLC also runs numerous initiatives to protect locals. For this year’s holidays, the Crown agency launched its #GiftSmart public information campaign. Its objective is to remind adults and parents that lottery and scratch-off tickets should not be purchased as gifts to children and minors.
Source: “Oh Baby: PlayNow.com Taking Bets on Which Hospital Welcomes the First Little One of 2023” BCLC, December 28, 2022
