Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) is warning people to stay away from fraudulent posts on Facebook purporting to be an online-gaming app for Club Regent Casino.
Club Regent Casino, based in Winnipeg, does not offer a mobile app or online gaming.
A spokesperson for MBLL advised igaming players not to click on links in the ad or provide personal or credit card information. Winnipeg’s other casino, McPhillips Station, also doesn’t offer a mobile app or online gaming.
“Please be aware this is a scam. We have been diligent in reporting these ads to Facebook (Meta) and posting warnings, but these ads continue to circulate,” an MBLL statement said. “We encourage Manitobans who encounter the fraudulent posts to also block and report.”
A warning was also posted on the Casinos of Winnipeg social-media accounts (Instagram and Facebook) and on their website.
In Manitoba, the only platform to bet legally on sports and gamble online is PlayNow.
Like with the crown corporations in other provinces (except Ontario, with its open, competitive, regulated, igaming market), all revenue generated through the one online gaming platform stays in the province, with profits supporting various community and charitable programs.
When PlayNow launched in 2013, it offered Manitobans 23 casino slot games, along with poker and sports betting. A decade later, PlayNow members can purchase lottery tickets, play hundreds of slots, bet sports, and participate in bingo, as well as play live table games in real time with dealers on Live Casino.
