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Ontario Lottery and Gaming chief Rigby to exit

News

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has announced that Stephen Rigby is to step down as its president and chief executive after five years at the helm.

Rigby will remain in his role until this summer when a replacement is appointed, and also work with the new leadership to assist with the transition of power.

During his time in charge, OLG’s returns from gambling in the Canadian province has grown from CAN$1.7bn (£950.1m/€1.09bn/US$1.24bn) in 2015 to almost $2.5bn. Growth is to continue into the coming years, reaching $3bn by the state’s 2022-23 fiscal year.

Rigby also oversaw the opening of four new casinos in Belleville, Peterborough, Chatham and Sarnia, while construction is ongoing at other facilities in Pickering, North Bay and the Niagara Falls Entertainment Centre.

Lottery sales reached $4bn under Rigby’s leadership, while the PlayOLG online gambling brand doubled its customer base in the last 18 months.

“The board of directors thanks Stephen for his outstanding service as president and chief executive officer of OLG,” OLG chair Peter Deeb said. “As chair of the board, I have launched a process to identify a successor.”

Rigby’s departure comes as OLG’s status as the online gambling monopoly in the province remains uncertain, after Ontario’s Conservative government last year revealed plans to end the current system.

In the 2019 provincial budget, published last April, the government set out plans to establish a competitive market for online legal gambling “that will reflect consumer choice while protecting consumers who play on these websites”.