'The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation makes evidence-based decisions, and our priority is to run a safe, regulated, responsible gambling industry.' Maximum wager $10 for new gameĪccording to the NSGC, the keno game the Atlantic Lottery Corporation is rolling out in March will have lower stakes and players will be required to take more breaks while playing. 'That's the old game, so that's like comparing apples to oranges, and that's why we redesigned the game,' Grant said. However, in 2007, it said Nova Scotia would not adopt the game because it attracts high-risk players.Ĭorporation spokeswoman Krista Grant told CBC News that the version of the electronic game about to be introduced is a different version than the one originally rejected by the corporation in 2007. The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, the Crown corporation responsible for gaming in the province, had studied multi-draw electronic keno in the past. 'It increases risk and we would probably want to challenge this idea that it's only low risk.' 'I was quite dismayed, I saw this as another potential problem, putting my clients at risk, and just in principal, any kind of gambling product that is suddenly going to be available at much shorter intervals we know increases the risk,' Stephen said. In the game, patrons buy the keno tickets at the bar, with the winning number displayed on the screen minutes later.Ī representative from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation said draws will be held every five minutes from noon until midnight, with players limited to maximum bets of $10 per draw, but there will be no limit on the amount gamblers can spend in a day.Įlizabeth Stephen, a problem-gambling counsellor with the Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, told CBC News she was disappointed to learn electronic keno would be introduced. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation plans to launch electronic keno in 200 bars and restaurants in the two provinces in March. A gambling addiction expert is questioning the decision to bring a new game of chance to bars and pubs in Nova Scotia and P.E.I., saying the new 'low-risk' betting game could be dangerously addictive.

Keno in my bar