Minister Raymond Bachand, the Quebec Minister of Finance, announced the move, and noted that revenue for the first three years of Loto Quebec’s online poker operations is projected to be around $50 million. There are hopes that revenue could be higher than that if Quebec manages to tap into the greater online gambling market in Canada.

Even though Loto Quebec has plans to use various security and safety measures for players, especially for problem gamblers, there has still been opposition to the idea. The lottery group, however, explained that public health studies have shown that the proportion of problem gamblers is not necessarily raised when the number of gambling venues is increased.

The new online poker site will have age verification requirements to be filled, the ability for players to exclude themselves from the online poker site at any time they feel the need to do so, and to add to that, the need to limit weekly account funding has also been recognized.

After noting that the residents of Quebec already have access to thousands of online gambling sites, Alain Cousineau, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Loto Quebec, said: “This is a way for us to channel the gaming offering in a controlled circuit and environment whose integrity will be beyond reproach.”

This new online poker channel will contain live feeds for various poker tournaments in Canada and will also feature shows containing the game’s history and Canadian background.

The channel is due to be launched towards the beginning of March 2010, once the 2010 Winter Olympics has ended as the producers of the online channel have decided to wait until the Olympics are over before launching the site so as not to interrupt the Canadians who will be enjoying their Winter Games.

The new online poker channel will start off their schedule with over 20 hours of programming from a few of Canada’s biggest poker tournaments and will feature the game’s biggest names including Joe Hachem, Phil Laak, Gavin Smith and Huck Seed. The Stampede Classic Calgary, Roger Sarna and Joe Hachem in the Canadian Open Poker Championships and the heads-up clashes between “Yukon” Brad Booth and Huck Seed will be some of the shows to be featured on the new poker channel. The documentary showcasing the Canadian Poker Tour’s Invitational Finals that was filmed in the Domican Republic will also be aired.

The Canadian poker industry is hoping that the new online channel will change the way that some people feel about the game.

Operators sponsoring the channel are looking forward to the opportunity to spotlight poker in a groundbreaking way that will reach millions of people.