Community activist, sports lottery advocate.
Born at Leiden, The Netherlands on 29 May 1931, he and his wife Ina emigrated to Canada in 1954. They settled in Winnipeg where they spent the next 30 years.
Active in the city's sporting communities, he chaired the water polo competition at the 1967 Pan Am Games held in Winnipeg. He was involved with the formation and was founding President of the Manitoba Sports Federation in 1969. He pioneered sport lottery. He was named general manager of the Western Canada Lottery in 1974. In 1985, he moved to Vancouver as the first President of the British Columbia Lottery. He also was part of other lottery innovations. He was considered the “founding father” of the World Lottery Association at the Oslo Relations convention and served as the first President. In 2000, the World Lottery Association introduced the Guy Simonis Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was the first recipient of this award which recognizes outstanding service and commitment to the lottery industry by an individual. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
He died at Vancouver, British Columbia on 6 October 2022. In 2025, he was inducted as a historical figure into the Canadian Water Polo Hall of Fame.
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame - website.
World Lottery Association - website.
Water Polo Canada - website.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 15 October 2022, page 41.
This page was prepared by Rick Mutton.
Page revised: 25 February 2026
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