If you’re hoping a $70-million lottery prize in Friday’s LottoMax draw might help you better weather the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have to get creative to buy your ticket.
A spokesperson for the BC Lottery Corp. said many of its retailers of tickets for LottoMax, Lotto649, Keno and various scratch and win games have closed. Those include kiosks in grocery stores; some have even suspended selling the tab cards that can be purchased directly at the check-out line.
But Erica Simpson said some retailers are still open and have implemented proper protocols to ensure physical distancing. She added the closures have reduced sales but “we are unable to provide specifics at this time give the rapidly-evolving COVID-19 situation.”
Simpson said, however, the lottery company’s online sites, bclc.com and playnow.com, as well as the Lotto! app, remain unaffected by the public health crisis. She said while the company’s playnow.com online gambling site, has seen a boost in registrations and activity, she couldn’t reveal how much “due to competitive reasons.”
But, Simpson said, with the cancellation of most sporting events worldwide, the site’s sports betting component “is currently limited.”
Thursday, the site was posting odds on Counter-Strike E-Sports matches, table tennis and professional soccer in Belarus that started its season March 19.
Although how long the soccer can continue is unknown, as of Wednesday, fan groups from several teams announced their intention to boycott matches and FIFPro, the international union that represents about 65,000 professional soccer players, said several players in the Belarusian Premier League have expressed concerns about playing during the pandemic.
The union has documented several of its members who’ve contracted COVID-19, including Brazilian striker Jonathan de Jesüs, who plays for a second-division team in Spain, at least two players in Italy and Irish striker Lee Duffy, who said he spent eight days in hospital hooked up to oxygen as he could no longer breathe on his own.
