Western Canadian Lottery
State lotteries, wherein resulting funds were used for the common
good, have existed for hundreds of years. In the modern era, however,
gambling was illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada until 1892, when
an amendment allowed the practice.
By 1910, games were legally permitted on the condition that profits be
distributed to either charitable or religious causes. Charity bingos and
raffles grew increasingly popular in this more accepting climate.
Regadless, the first "Western Canada Lottery" (WCL) was not started
until 1974. The Edmonton Exhibition Association partnered with the
Calgary Exhibition and Stampede to offer the lottery. As a consequence,
each had to give up any individual sweepstakes they were operating for
their own benefit. Funds generated through the common lottery were split
between the partners, as well as donated to the Commonwealth Games
Foundation.
The two exhibitions were permitted to use proceeds only on projects
designed to benefit the community. The AgriCom, for example, was funded
in part through the Western Canada Lottery on the promise that the
facility would be used for the greater good.
Although the WCL
could promise better odds than those offered through a national lottery,
the game was not an immediate success. Its first few years were a time
of discovery concerning which kinds of tickets were of the greatest
interest. The game eventually grew into a significant revenue generator and proceeds from it continued to be used on
improvement projects.
In 1995, all provincial gaming activities, with the exception of
racing, were brought under the management of the Alberta Liquor and
Gaming Commission. Their revenues were then funneled into the Alberta
Lottery Fund for redistribution, even as they are today.
The Western Canada Lottery, governed by the Western Canada
Lottery Corporation (WCLC), is now a provincial entity from which
Northlands draws funds as one of many beneficiaries. The organization is
given a slice of the province’s billion-dollar lottery redistribution
pie, in part out of recognition for its pivotal role in creating the
Western Lottery. Northlands Park also shares credit for the social gains
made through the game’s current success.
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