Canada is peeking out its head from under the rubble of controversy over Internet gambling ever since British Columbia opened up its doors to the first North American, government-run online casino set to premier in Quebec this autumn.
The site, PlayNow.com will be followed by another site from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation which manages lottery games in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. Thanks to Canada, online gambling will soon become an activity that will no longer have such negative connotations as the government begins to regulate it and make it much more transparent and by installing responsible gambling safeguards for problem gamblers.
Now the buzz is coming from another province in Canada, Ontario. Paul Godfrey, Chairman for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, along with Premier Dalton McGuinty are reflecting on the idea of diving headlong into online gambling as a way to advance revenues in the economic slump. A spokesperson for McGuinty has said that “I think what the Premier said is that Internet gaming is a reality that the government of Ontario can’t ignore for long.” It has been revealed that research has been conducted by the government but the jury is still out as to what that means exactly.
Runi Brum, a spokesperson for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has said, “In a general sense, like all lottery and gaming jurisdictions in Canada, we are closely watching what is happening in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada.” More and more governments around the world are beginning to change their stance on gambling expansion, and Canada, is becoming one of the first countries to take the leap.
04 August, 2010