The Atlantic Canadian Boo Bird is known to chirp… but only when they see online gambling sites that don’t support the local community

As a publicly owned corporation with a strong social purpose, Atlantic Lottery was created to give back to our local communities. Each year, 100% of Atlantic Lottery profit stays right here in Atlantic Canada to support important public services like education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, many Atlantic Canadians are seeing advertising for, and subsequently playing on gambling sites that cannot legally operate or advertise in Atlantic Canada.

An estimated $190 million leaves our region each year through play on these illegal gambling websites. This is a significant amount of money that could be going back into our Atlantic Canadian communities but instead solely benefits these illegal, private operators.

“That number is troubling and a growing concern for the people who live in our region,” said Patrick Daigle, Atlantic Lottery president and CEO. “These illegal operators are primarily motivated by profit and do not place the same priority on player health and responsible gambling as Atlantic Lottery, nor do they return profits or taxes to Atlantic Canadian provinces.”

How can they get away with operating illegally, you ask? Well, sometimes it may be that advertising from websites that are legal in Ontario, but not here in Atlantic Canada, are spilling into our region. Meanwhile, some sites promote loopholes for residents of provinces where they cannot legally take real-money wagers by advertising free-play ‘.net’ sites that then redirect players to their paid ‘.com’ sites that are not legal under Canadian or provincial law. Some sites may even claim to be “licensed and regulated” overseas, but only Atlantic Lottery can legally offer online gambling and sports betting in Atlantic Canada.

 

What exactly is a Boo Bird?

Ever heard the term “Boo Bird” before? If you are a sports fan, you probably have. Boo Birds is a well-known sports term used to describe fans who boo their own home team when they aren’t playing up to their potential. In this spirit, the Atlantic Canadian Boo Bird was born, to deliver a clear message to every Atlantic Canadian: if you want to keep the Boo Birds at bay, support your local community by only gambling with Atlantic Lottery.

“We’ve been working for a number of years to raise awareness of illegal online gambling operators and the risks they pose to our players and communities,” Daigle said. “The concept of the Boo Bird is a new, light-hearted way to share this message with our fellow Atlantic Canadians on the importance of playing for the home team.”

 

Silence the Boo Birds

Unlike Atlantic Lottery, illegal operators aren’t accountable to governments to offer gambling in a socially responsible manner with typical responsible gambling features, like effective age-of-majority controls. Similarly, the absence of any financial data reporting from illegal operators to regulators or oversight bodies like FINTRAC (Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), significantly increases the risk of fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and the misdirection of funds.

Being publicly owned not only means that Atlantic Lottery’s revenue doesn’t leave our region, but players can also trust our games are regulated and accountable. We have been recognized by the World Lottery Association and Responsible Gambling Council for offering the highest level of responsible gambling features and resources for our players.

Since our inception in 1976, Atlantic Lottery has returned more than $11.9 billion to fund important public services and build stronger local communities. We also support hundreds of local festivals, events, and community groups. Nothing to chirp about there.

So remember, if gambling online, do so legally with Atlantic Lottery, the only 100% legal online gambling option in Atlantic Canada that also supports our local communities… or you might want to get some earplugs.