The first bet on the platform was made at 5:03 AM, a wager on the baseball game between Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins that night. Duncan Hannay, OLG President, and Chief Executive said that they are pleased with the volumes recorded on the platform on the very first day.
This has been made possible due to the federal legislation that came into effect since Friday morning, making it legal for Canadians to place bets on single sporting events. OLG’s Proline+ was launched to facilitate the placement of bets legally. Earlier through a parlay system gamblers could place three bets, however, now they can try their luck on single events.
According to the Canadian Football League, sports betting sites has come out of the shadows and into the sunshine, where it belongs, after the legislation to its effect found its way through the House of Commons and Senate and finally received the royal assent in June.
Politicians were for this Bill as sites like Bodog and Bet365 have been taking the lion share of the revenue Canadians invested in betting, around $4 billion according to the Canadian Gaming Association.
OLG is among the first organizations in Canada to roll out this betting product, but Duncan Hannay feels they are in for competition soon. Yet he also surmises that OLG will be able to meet the competition because of its track record, the breadth of its offering, and its commitment to reinvesting 100 percent of its proceeds into provincial priorities like health care. He also added that they at OLG are well versed with their customer base and so have an advantage. But the real edge that Proline+ has will come when it moves ahead with dynamic odds, more games, and new sports with Proline Retail offering. As of now, only the online format is available.
But for now, OLG is focusing on creating awareness around Proline + and accepting pre-match bets placed by anyone above 19 years residing anywhere in the province. Proline + has a feature allowing partial payout on a bet even before the results are out, though only for select events. The winnings are directly deposited into the bettor’s account. Also, there are opportunities to bet on North American and other international leagues, English Premier League inclusive. As of now there are betting opportunities spread across the games hockey, football, baseball, soccer, basketball, boxing, golf, and mixed martial arts. Hanny hopes to increase the number of sports events people can bet on shortly. He is optimistic when he says that this is just the starting point for Proline+.
