Haiti has become the latest market tapped into by businessman Craig Flowers who, on Saturday expanded his gaming empire with the opening of a new web shop on the island.

Gwolo, which means “Jackpot” in Creole, is the name of the store.

The store, located in Port-Au-Prince, is expected to employ at least 20 people directly with more expected to be hired as the store expands.

Customers will be able to purchase numbers based off the lotteries from Florida and New York.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and is in desperate need of any investment.

“The presence of Gwolo is already a great thing,” said a Haitian official at a ceremony marking the store’s opening Saturday. “It will stimulate other businesses to come in the community. On a more concrete basis, Gwolo is bringing employment and it is bringing hope. It is a very positive thing and one that will hopefully encourage other people to do the same thing.”

Mr. Flowers said Gwolo is proof that Haiti, though immensely challenged, is open for business.

“This is a country with 10 million people, we can’t even fathom the scope of energy that will be required to provide this entire country with the online games,” he said. “So we think that there is a lot of room here for other companies as well to come. Like I have demonstrated in The Bahamas, there is enough room and enough work here for all of us.”

“Haiti is a good place to do business and we are happy that Mr. Flowers has the vision to recognise that,” said Donald Toussaint, a partner on the project and Haitian native. Gwolo will set the standards high for other web shops and companies in Haiti.”

Mr. Toussaint said the plan now is to make the butterfly – the company’s logo, the most recognisable symbol in all of Haiti.

“We plan to have people out on the streets and at market places able to sell the numbers,” he said. “We want them to see the butterfly and right away know that that is Gwolo. We want to be as recognisable as or even more recognisable than Digicel is here.”

In terms of the amount of revenue expected to be generated from this venture, Mr. Flowers indicated that it could possibly become mind boggling because he said there is no way of knowing how big this can become.

“Look around, everybody here has a cell phone and while the store is located just in this one location, people, because of technology and communication, are connected all across this island,” Mr. Flowers said.

Gwolo intends to give back to the Haitian community as well.

The company will give financial assistance in the areas of education, sports and culture, Mr. Flowers said.