Canada's Olympic team preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics, supported by OLG. (Image: Associated Press / Alamy)

Just days before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has announced the signing of its inaugural partnership with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committee. 

Established in 2000, the OLG is a state-owned entity responsible for managing lotteries, slots, horseracing tracks and casinos across Canada’s most populous province. The enterprise headquartered in Toronto also employs some 8,000 people and last year handed out a sum of more than $58 million to a wide range of charitable causes, including local food bank operators, children’s groups and medical centers and associations.

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The Brand and Marketing Vice-President for the OLG, Maxine Chapman, revealed her organization has now become the Official Ontario Lottery Partner for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committee in order to better support local athletes as they prepare to compete in France.

As part of this effort, the executive proclaimed that her office is to launch the new 'Sponsored by You' marketing campaign to reinforce the message that its players ‘are supporting athletes from Ontario in achieving their dreams’ whenever they enjoy gambling entertainment through the OLG.

“Many people don't realize 100% of the OLG's profits are reinvested into Ontario and that we have a long-standing history of supporting amateur athletes,” Chapman said. 

“The OLG's ability to give back to communities is only possible thanks to our players, so we wanted to use this opportunity to recognize and celebrate them.”

Positive Publicity

Chapman went on to explain the 'Sponsored by You' campaign is to be fronted by a number of well-known Team Canada athletes, including champion sprinter Andre De Grasse, gold-medal winning swimmer Penny Oleksiak and hammer throw specialist Jillian Weir.

To further ramp up interest, the OLG disclosed that the 'Sponsored by You' scheme is to additionally give punters the chance to win a range of special rewards, including Team Canada ‘prize packs’ and an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

Ongoing Operation

The OLG declared it has run its Quest for Gold athlete assistance program in partnership with the government of Ontario since 2006 so as to provide ‘direct financial support to thousands of amateur athletes’. 

It explained how over 90% of Ontario's most recent Olympic medal winners have used this program, which enables such competitors to improve their abilities by offsetting a variety of training and living expenses.

“The Quest for Gold program showcases our government's continued efforts to enable Ontario athletes to achieve their full potential at the highest levels of competition,” Ontario’s Sport Minister, Neil Lumsden, said. 

“We are proud to join with the OLG, our partners across the sport sector and all Ontarians in wishing our Olympic and Paralympic athletes the best of luck in Paris.”