PlayNow.com first Canadian gov’t site to launch live casino

British Columbia’s provincially-run online gambling site has launched Canada’s first government-approved live-dealer casino offering.

On Wednesday, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) announced that its PlayNow.com gambling site had officially launched its new Live Casino product. The site currently features 10 gaming tables offering live baccarat, blackjack, roulette, auto roulette and baccarat eSqueeze.

The live casino is accessible via desktop and mobile channels but is currently only open from 10am to 2am, although the site says these hours could expand in future if the product proves popular.

The live casino product comes courtesy of live dealer technology provider Evolution Gaming, which inked its first Canadian deal with BCLC last April. The company opened a new live dealer studio in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster that currently employs 50 people, but Evolution expects this number could grow to 170 should other provincial gambling monopolies choose to add live casinos to their own online offering.