Winners of cannabis store lottery for Hamilton, Burlington, and Niagara announced

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario's (AGCO) most recent lottery results are out, with more retail stores potentiallycoming to Hamilton, Burlington and the Niagara area.

On Wednesday morning, AGCO announced the individuals selected in their Aug. 20 lotterywho would be able to apply for licenses.

If theirapplications are approved,Hamilton Mountain will get a storeon Upper James Street, Ancasterwill have one onWilson Street West, andStoney Creek will get one at theWinonaCrossing Shopping Centre.

St. Catharinesand Niagara Falls will get one more store each, whileWelland will open its first shop.

Burlington will double the amount of its cannabis stores with two more: one on Plains Road and one on Guelph Line.

There were 4,864 eligible entrants to the draw, and 42 were selected. Applicantshave one week to apply for a cannabis retail operator licence and a retailstore authorization.

Applicants had to secure retail location and cash

As opposed to the first lottery in January, applicantshad to be "pre-qualified"to enter this round.They were required to show evidence that they had already secured a retail space and had the financial capacity to open a store.

This included the ability to get $250,000 in cash and a standby letter of credit of$50,000 within five business days of being notified that they could apply.

Applicants' retail space had to be available no later than October 2019.

Hamilton currently has two brick-and-mortar cannabis stores Canna Cabana Hamilton and Hello Cannabis Store.

Niagara Falls is home to Choom Cannabis.St. Catharines has The Niagara Herbalist, and Burlington has two storesRELM Cannabis Co. and Pioneer Cannabis.

In July, the government announced that 50 more retail cannabis stores would be coming to Ontario by the fall. Eight of these spots went to First Nations reserves through a separate application process.

The Ontario government started with a limit of 25 stores in January's lottery due to supply issues.

As before, the 42 potential licencesin this lottery were divided among Ontario regions, with 13 in Toronto, six in the Greater Toronto Area,11 in the west region, seven in the east regionand one store each in Kenora, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and Timmins.

A full list of can be found on the AGCO's website.

Illegal cannabis sales have gone digital

Before Hamilton police started raids in the city to shut down unlicensed cannabis stores, a local cannabis consultant told CBC that there were more than 80 cannabis stores across the city.

In January, Hamilton police said that there were approximately 34 illegal dispensaries. They said they shut down the last physical store in June.

But, earlier this August, Hamilton police caught their first alleged "delivery man" in action. They told CBC that while the illegal stores may have been shut down, sales have just moved online.

Premier Doug Ford has previously called Hamilton's illegal shops his "biggest frustration."