Gambling in Canada is not only becoming more and more popular, it is also becoming better and better. The fact of the matter is that in less than a decade the online gambling industry, particularly in Canada, has exploded. This is not only because of the massive advances in online gaming technology as well as mobile gaming technology, it is also because Canada’s status as a top online gambling mecca has increased tremendously. According to Casino Hex, similar trends with real money slots are found in Italy.
In order to cash in on this incredible trend of online gambling in Canada, certain provincial gambling options have emerged over the past few years. The idea behind these local websites is to offer Canadians a viable alternative to the influx of international online casino brands.
There are several so-named lottery corporations, each serving a different region or group of provinces in Canada. This includes BCLC (British Columbia Lottery Corporation), WCLC (Western Canada Lottery Corporation), ALC (Atlantic Lottery Corporation) and OLG or Ontario Lottery Corporation. The question is though, are they any good and should you be gambling with them?
OLG and Playolg.ca – What are they?
If you live anywhere in Ontario, there’s a more than good chance that you’ve heard of OLG. In fact, you may have already played games with OLG and not even realised it. This is because the main purpose of OLG is to sell lottery tickets to people living in Ontario. In this regard, everything is A-Okay and hunky dory since the lottery side of the brand goes back a couple of decades.
However, when they introduced their eGaming side of the operation, intended to offer an alternative to Ontarians who wanted to gamble online, that things became a bit fuzzy. PlayOLG.ca is designed to operate like an online casino and offers a range of casino games including slots, table games, single play poker, scratch cards, and so on. Basically all the things (more or less) that you would find at an international online casino. PlayOlg.ca also further expanded to compete with international sportsbooks by offering a type of online sports betting facility called Pro-Line.
How Pro-Line from OLG Works
Pro-Line goes all the way back to 1992 when it was offered in kiosks by OLG as well as by ALC under the Pro-Line Stadium brand. Both Pro-Line and Pro-Line Stadium work on a parlay ticket, which means that you need to place several bets on the same ticket and have all those bets right to win. Players can select anywhere from two to eight games per parlay ticket with three betting options on offer: points spread, moneyline or totals. You can also combine these different betting options on your parlay but not within the same game.
Why You Should be Shopping Around in Ontario
While Pro-Line, as well as OLG would like you to believe that sticking with them is your best bet to making real money with sports betting, the truth is somewhat different. The fact of the matter is that Pro-Line parlay bets are not true parlay bets.
This is mainly because Pro-Line only offers fixed odds betting, while top international sportsbooks will offer you much better odds and bigger payouts. This is because international (offshore) sports betting sites increase payouts based on the number of legs in your parlay ticket, while Pro-Line’s parlay tickets lean more towards giving Pro-Line (and OLG) a bigger advantage. Pro-Line also presents problems when it comes to a tie bet. While international sportsbooks will give you a realistic tie bet option, Pro-Line require a win margin of at least 6 points in basketball, or 4 points in football, with anything less considered a tie.
As far as online casinos go, the OLG casino has some of the main detractors as Pro-Lin. The biggest of which is that the return to player (RTP), or amount of winnings an online casino gives back to the player for every dollar bet, is much lower at the OLG online casino. The same slots you could be playing at an international online casino catered to Canadians probably has a better RTP than OLG. What does this mean, well it basically means you have a better chance of winning and actually taking home money. Don’t believe me? Check out authority online casino websites like grykasyno.biz and they will tell you all about this stuff.
Not only do you not have as good a chance of winning but you also don’t get as many game choices and great welcome bonuses to play with. There are dozens of reputable online casinos out there that have dozens more software providers providing thousands of games and experiences. OLG online casino simply can’t compete with that. Bottom line is that you had best educate yourself on where to spend your hard earned money before blindly giving it up to good ol’ OLG.
