The Government of Quebec announced today that it has decided to allow Loto-Quebec to offer online gambling services.
Minister of Finance Raymond Bachard said the provincial government took this decision last week in order to fight an already existing underground online gambling economy.
“Loto-Quebec is being given the responsibility of working to redirect this already existing but illegal gaming activity to a site that is secure, legal and trustworthy,” Bachard said.
Illegal online gaming, has increasingly become a problem for Loto-Quebec, which has seen a decrease in its profits.
“By channeling online gaming, Loto-Quebec will be able to keep a significant part of money here in Quebec by returning the entirety of its profits to the QUebec government and community, just as it does for its other operations,” said Loto-Quebec’s CEO Alain Cousineau.
Loto-Quebec announced it is already working on its online gaming website which is scheduled to be up and running this Fall.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Loto-Quebec to offer online gaming
Posted by Jose Alvarez on February 3, 2010
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Corus kills 940Hits and Info 690
Posted by Jose Alvarez on January 29, 2010
Corus Entertainment announced today it will end service on its two Montreal AM stations tonight at 7 pm. Ten jobs will be cut. Corus says it took this decision because the two stations are not commercially viable. The full press release follows:
Message heard on 940Hits today before it ceased broadcasting
Message hear on Info 690 today before it ceased broadcasting
AM Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits to cease operation on January 29, 2010
MONTREAL, Jan. 29 /CNW Telbec/ – Corus Entertainment announced today that AM Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits will cease operation on January 29 at 7 p.m.
Despite the excellence and dedication of station employees, Info690 and AM940 are unprofitable. Corus Québec and its employees worked to grow audience and revenues on both these stations while operating them as efficiently as possible. It is clear that these two AM stations are not viable, particularly in the current economic climate.
This decision affects 10 positions, including eight positions at Info690: three journalist positions, two traffic reporter positions and three operations positions. At AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits, two positions were affected: one on-air host position and one technician position.
The Info690 Montréal newsroom, known as CorusNouvelles, will continue its activities as part of 98,5 FM Montréal. CorusNouvelles will continue to invest in providing news content to the entire Corus Québec network and its clients. The majority of journalist positions from the Info690 newsroom (five of eight journalist positions along with three of five traffic reporter positions) will be retained.
“We put tremendous effort into trying to find the right format and content to grow our audience base and operate profitably, but after years of effort it is clear these AM stations are not viable,” said Mario Cecchini, Vice President, Corus Québec. “We would like to thank the employees affected by this decision for their hard work. We would also like to acknowledge the support of listeners and advertising clients of Info690 Montréal and AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits.”
The operating licences for these two AM stations will be returned to the CRTC. Corus Québec employs 466 people in Quebec.
About Corus Québec
Corus Québec is an integral part of Corus Entertainment Inc. and the largest private content and information broadcaster in Quebec. Corus Québec reaches more than 4.5 million listeners each week and operates 96,9 CKOI Montréal, 102,1 CKOI Quebec City, 104,5 CKOI Eastern Townships, 98,5 FM Montréal, CKAC Sports Montréal, 92-5 The Q Montreal, 103,9 CIME FM Laurentians and the Souvenirs Garantis network: 102,9 FM Quebec City, 107,7 FM Eastern Townships, 98,3 FM Saguenay, 104,7 FM Gatineau/Ottawa and 106,9 FM Mauricie. According to comScore Media Metrix, Corus Québec websites are visited by over 525,000 French-speaking users and 3 million English-speaking users in Canada every month.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Montreal, quebec, Corus, Radio | Leave a Comment »
Radio-Canada requests licence for new sports channel
Posted by Jose Alvarez on October 20, 2009
Radio-Canada announced today that it filed a licence request to launch a new 24-hour television sports channel. The new french-language service, called Radio-Canada Sports, would primarily focus on Canadian sports content produced by the SRC. Radio-Canada claims this is part of their strategic plan to better promote Canadian lifestyle and culture.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Canada, CBC, CRTC, French, Radio-Canada, Sports, SRC, tv | Leave a Comment »
Design firm rebrands Swine Flu?
Posted by Jose Alvarez on October 20, 2009
A Toronto-based marketing and design firm might have a little explaining to do after it inadvertently sent out a press release stating that it had “unveiled a new brand identity for the H1N1 flu virus.”
In its apparently bogus statement, AmoebaCorp, which has clients varying from Coca-Cola to the Toronto FC, claimed that it had rebranded the H1N1 virus because of a need to clear any confusion between seasonal flu, H1N1, and Swine Flu.
“Despite a significant effort made to educate the public on the symptoms and differences that exist between these viruses, consumers still appear not to understand that H1N1 and Swine Flu are one-in-the-same,” Mike Kelar, Co-Creative Director and Partner at AmoebaCorp said on the press release. “This confusion weakens H1N1’s position in the marketplace as the most severe flu because it splits brand awareness between 2 seemingly unrelated viruses and reduces H1N1’s ability to compete. We had no other choice but to do whatever we could to clear up this confusion by providing those in a position to influence and educate with the ammunition they need to do so.”
The press release also states that the new H1N1 brand was “designed with a classic, iconic aesthetic in mind,” and is “intended to convey a weight of authority and efficacy assurance while at the same time, reinforce the relationship that exists between H1N1 and Swine Flu.”
A couple hours later AmoebaCorp released another statement notifying media outlets to disregard the H1N1 brand press release for it was sent by mistake.
Was this a bad joke or is there really a whole marketing campaign behind H1N1?
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: AmoebaCorp, brand, branding, Canada, design, flu, H1N1, health, marketing, Mike Kelar, swine flu, Toronto, virus | Leave a Comment »
