The Canadian Online Gaming Association has registered Carly Sieb and Luis Lopez to lobby Nova Scotia for an online gambling market that would admit private operators, challenging a system in which Atlantic Lottery is the sole permitted provider.
The association wants the province to support a regulated iGaming market and consider guiding principles for a future regulatory framework. RG.org reported that Sieb and Lopez, both former federal Conservative staffers, work for the public-relations and lobbying firm Endgame Strategies.
Nova Scotia’s existing Atlantic Lottery Regulations prohibit anyone other than Atlantic Lottery Corporation from conducting, managing or operating an online game in the province. The rules cover internet and other electronic lottery schemes, including casino-style games and games involving simulated or live dealers. They took effect in 1995 and were most recently amended on Dec. 1, 2025.
COGA’s proposed alternative is modelled on Ontario and Alberta, the two provinces that have opened online gambling to private operators. Ontario became the first to do so when iGaming Ontario launched on April 4, 2022.
Alberta opened its regulated market on July 13 under the Alberta iGaming Corporation, which conducts and manages the commercial market while the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission regulates it. Twenty-two registered sites were approved at launch, subject to requirements including age verification, deposit and time limits, and self-exclusion options.
COGA has previously employed Endgame Strategies in Ontario, where the firm was one of three hired by the association to lobby for an open market. The group has also been active in British Columbia: a registration effective April 23, 2025, names Endgame consultant lobbyist Piercon Knezic as representing COGA. That filing describes the association’s objective as advocating an iGaming regime that is fair and responsible for operators, vendors and players, and lists Bet365, Betway Group and Entain among entities associated with the record.
Atlantic Lottery, owned by the four Atlantic provinces, returned $492 million in profit to the provinces in 2025-26, while its share of regional online betting and gaming activity rose by one percentage point to 35%.
Atlantic Lottery has estimated that about $250 million leaves the regional economy each year through illegal operators.
