HUMBOLDT — The task of selling tickets for the Humboldt Broncos’ lottery has been made more difficult as the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority applies its rules in a different manner.
No longer can the team sell tickets for the lottery online, unless the sales are restricted to Humboldt residents only.
This is not a restriction the team faces when it sells tickets over the phone. Charities like the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society and hospital foundations don’t face this limitation because they are deemed provincial in scope.
Stephanie Choma, a spokesperson with the authority, said online technologies provide the ability for hundreds of groups raising money for community causes to potentially take support away from one community to another.
“The rules are in place to ensure charities have the ability to compete fairly for support for their charitable activities,” she said.
The rules have been in place since October 2017, but this is the first year they’ve been applied in such a manner. Last year, the Broncos sold tickets for the lottery online.
Jamie Brockman, the team’s president, said the jury’s still out on how the new application of the rules will affect its ability to sell the lottery’s 7,500 tickets.
“How it's going to affect us, it's hard to say. We're very early in our lotto.”
The president said it’s difficult to determine how important online sales were to the lottery because the previous year was in no way a typical year.
As well, the team is now restricted to using one handheld raffle terminal in its office to process the tickets, instead of the five it was able to use in previous years.
Brockman said the team is not limited on the number of laptops it can use with an app that achieves the same thing.
“I know our vendor had to come up with an app on account of that, they didn't have one at the time, so for them, it's something new,” he said. “Because SLGA is enforcing this, it forced them to come up with some alternate solutions.”
Choma said the gaming authority is planning a broad review of charitable gaming regulations during its 2019-20 year. The review will include the use of online technologies.
Brockman has a few thoughts on what the authority should change.
“Personally, I don't see why we can't have online sales. We're already restricted, that we can only sell to Saskatchewan residents and with the amount of lotteries there are. I don't see why having the online option affects anybody else,” he said. “If everybody could do online sales, why wouldn't they?”
The president said the lottery is the most important fundraiser for for the Broncos.
