2021 was another profitable year for gamblers in the north.
According to the BC Lottery Corporation, nearly 60-million dollars in prize money was paid to players.
Other highlights included:
- 9.3 million winning tickets sold
- 8 grand prize-winning tickets sold, valued at $500,000 or more
- 1.7 million free-play tickets won
BCLC Spokesperson, Matt Lee told Vista Radio more beginners joined the action during the peak of the pandemic.
“I think what we saw with casinos closed it seemed like more players were willing to give lottery a try for the first time whether that was online or Playnow.com or at their local lottery retailer.”
“What we have seen over the last year is this surge in online play. Players are able to purchase lottery tickets from the BCLC Lotto app, they are able to log in to their PlayNow.com app and have a lottery subscription so they don’t miss a draw. That is something our players have a lot of love for.”
It was a record-setting year for lottery players province-wide, with more than $891 million dollars paid out.
One of our region’s big winners was Juanita Parnell of Prince Rupert who took home 5.8 million dollars in October.
In addition, Tammy Manning of McBride claimed 13-million dollars following the March 19th Lotto Max draw.
Over the past 10 years, 52 people have walked away with cash windfalls of $500,000 or more.
That equates to about $122 million in prizes.
Other notable winners from our region this year include:
- Carman and Clinton Crossman of Quesnel – $675,000
- Jordaine Weber of Fraser Lake – one million dollars
- Jeremy Ross of New Brunswick – $75,000
- Winning 50/50 ticket purchased at Westwood Pub worth $73,000 – still unclaimed
Another major victory for gamblers across the province was the implementation of single-event sports betting, which was made legal by Ottawa at the end of August.
While it’s currently only available on the Playnow.com platform, Lee expects BCLC to expand this offering early in the New Year.
“We are looking at expanding single-event sports betting at retail, casinos and other land-based locations is at the top of our priority list for 2022.”