liers OpenBet have extended their arrangement with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), allowing the BCLC to enhance the online sports offering at their PlayNow website.

The deal will see PlayNow Sports add more sports, leagues and tournaments to their online offering, while the development also makes British Columbia the first regulated Canadian jurisdiction to offer live betting.

OpenBet have worked with the BCLC since the Canadian group launched their initial online gaming service in June 2010 using OpenBet’s platform and centralised account, with the collaboration developing in the two years since through the introduction of new casino games.

Bookmakers Paddy Power will supply odds for PlayNow Sports, delivering market and price information which is to be published direct to a user’s browser in real time by OpenBet’s LiveServ and LiveOdds services.

OpenBet chief executive David Loveday said: “BCLC wanted a software provider that allowed them the flexibility to upgrade their offering as regulation developed and we have provided them with the support and expertise needed to do just that.”

BCLC vice president of e-gaming Rhonda Garvey added: “Our players now have access to a much wider variety of sports on a site that is safe, secure and regulated.”