Most recently, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation has revealed that it has been awarded a Level 4 certification from the World Lottery Association. It is the highest possible level granted by the WLA’s Independent Assessment Panel for tremendous effort in player health programming. Also, this is the fifth time in a row that BCLC has earned the Level 4 certification.
BCLC is a state-run Crown corporation that offers legal and responsible gambling entertainment to the Province of B.C. Its profits are reinvested into the local economy. Meanwhile, WLA is a global professional association of state lottery and gaming organizations from more than 80 countries around the world. The WLA certification applies for three years.
Fifth Consecutive Level 4 Certification
IAP recognized the Crown’s Player Education program with a “best Practice” outcome. This is utilized to assess certain program elements as “clearly beyond the norm” and is demonstrative of “innovative policies, practices or evaluation measures.” IAP highlighted BCLC’s numerous targeted initiatives and set of evaluation measures, and its ambitious plans moving forward.
Marie-Noëlle Savoie, BCLC’s Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President, Legal, Compliance and Security said maintaining the certification and “Best Practice” distinction is a testament to the lottery’s player-centric approach and improvement of the player health programs. She added the innovation across the agency has allowed this achievement and is what will drive further growth in these player health initiatives.
WLA’s Level 4 certification and “Best Practice” recognition puts BCLC as a continuing leader in player health across the industry. Numerous portions of the Crown’s player health programs, such as current research, employee training, player protections stakeholder engagement, were found to meet or exceed industry standards. BCLC is one of 13 lotteries in North America to gain the certification.
In its submission, the Crown was pleased to highlight the success of its GameSense Advisor program, the launch of an active reinstatement requirement to its Game Break voluntary self-exclusion program and the addition of enhanced identification requirements at provincial casinos. Meanwhile, its GameSense, available to other commercial gaming entities through its licensing program was also celebrated in the certification.
More local protection initiatives from the Crown, include its #GiftSmart campaign from December 2023. Just before the holidays, BCLC reminded adults in the province that lottery tickets are not suitable to kids and should not be given to them as gifts. It remarked early participation or exposure to gambling while young can increase the risk of developing a gambling issue in the future.
B.C. Players Cash Out Big in 2023
At the end of 2023, BCLC issued its annual recap of lottery winnings recorded throughout a calendar year. For the whole of last year, the Crown paid out more than CA$859 million in lottery prizes from more than 101 million winning tickets sold at both retail locations and on PlayNow.com. Including a CA$55 million jackpot to Scott Gurney from Sidney.
Source: “BCLC Receives Highest Level of Certification for Player Health Programs” BCLC, January 29, 2024
