‘We’re not afraid of competition’, says Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s new President

Source: Atlantic Lottery Corporation

Dallas McCready joins the Atlantic Lottery Corporation as President and Chief Executive Officer with some big shoes to fill. Patrick Daigle, who announced his retirement in 2024, had been in the role for 27 years.

McCready, appointed to the role in late January, had been the operator’s Chief Strategy Officer, a job he took on in 2022.

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Atlantic Lottery Corporation is jointly owned by the four Atlantic provincial governments in Canada – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, which share in its profits.

Coming into the job, McCready was asked by COMPLETE iGAMING what he thought the immediate challenges were, that were unique to Atlantic Canada.

“Confusion around advertising is a persistent challenge, as Atlantic Canadians continue to see advertising from other provinces for gambling websites that are not legally available in our region,” he said. “This lends an air of legitimacy to these operators and misleads the public about the legalities in this area, leading to ongoing confusion that we are working to correct, both in our region and through the efforts of the coalition.”

Atlantic Lottery Corporation is the only platform where people in the region can legally gamble online, and the gray market is an ongoing challenge.

Ontario launched a private, competitive igaming model in 2022 and is now one of the largest igaming markets in North America, with Alberta expected to come online with an Ontario-style market in 2025. To that, McCready said Atlantic Lottery Corporation isn’t afraid of competition. However, he added that it estimates that CA$200 million (US$139 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift leaves the region each year via play on illegal gambling sites.

McCready has been watching the efforts by the Canadian Lottery Coalition, which represents a collaboration of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Loto Quebec, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, and Lotteries & Gaming Saskatchewan, to tackle Bodog, a gray market operator in Manitoba, by filing an injunction against the operator with the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench.

Canadian Lottery Coalition is seeking to ban Bodog from the province. Interestingly, Bodog had already shut down operations in Nova Scotia.

“This injunction is part of the Canadian Lottery Coalition’s ongoing efforts to both raise awareness and curtail the activities of gambling websites operating illegally within our respective jurisdictions,” McCready said. “Unlike Atlantic Lottery, these websites operate without federal or provincial regulatory oversight or Canadian anti-money laundering reporting obligations, nor can the provinces ensure the safety or security of sites they do not regulate.

“Under the Canadian Criminal Code and provincial gaming legislation, the provincial lottery corporations have been vested with the sole authority to conduct and manage certain gambling activities, which includes online gambling and sports betting,” he added.

“Atlantic Lottery is the only legal and government-regulated provider of online gambling and sports betting products in Atlantic Canada, so were encouraged to hear about Bodog’s recent decision to cease operations in Nova Scotia.”

According to the latest annual report for the 2023-24 fiscal year, released last October, Atlantic Lottery delivered CA$487 million (US$340 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift to the four Atlantic provinces:

• Neww Brunswick CA$151.2 million (US$105 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
  2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift
• Nova Scotia CA$161.7 million (US$113 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
  2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift
• Prince Edward Island CA$26.8 million (US$18.7 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
  2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift
• Newfoundland and Labrador CA$147.3 million (US$103 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
  2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift

This included CA$256.5 million (US$179 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift from the Destination line of business (video lottery terminals) and CA$230.5 million (US$161 million)1 CAD = 0.6974 USD
2025-02-26Powered by CMG CurrenShift from the retail and ilottery lines of business.

Atlantic Lottery continued to see growth on the alc.ca platform, with gross gaming revenue for the ilottery line of business increasing by 17% over the previous fiscal year.

McCready played a key role in writing a five-year strategic plan for Atlantic Lottery Corporation. “The strategic plan acts as a roadmap that will shape our plan for our products, services and operations during each year of that timeframe,” he said. “Our goal is to take a strong and successful Atlantic Lottery to even greater heights. This goes beyond profits, as encouraging and supporting healthy play are at the core and are foundational to our organization. 

“The plan highlights four strategic goals that define how Atlantic Lottery will realize that success, including player experience, betting and gaming market share, healthy play, and account-based play. There will be countless new products, features and other projects that will help us meet these goals over the next five years and we look forward to sharing them with our players.”

First up in 2025 is the rollout of new lottery terminals at all retail locations in Atlantic Canada. The new generation of terminals will replace an older model and significantly improve technical reliability for retailers and players alike.

They will also offer new benefits and options to players, while enabling Atlantic Lottery Corporation to improve their retail purchases and further integrate the in-store and online experience, McCready added.