Ontario is looking at cashing in on Internet gambling, following the lead of other Canadian provinces in having its lottery corporation possibly deliver online wagering.
Virtual gambling is a reality and the Ontario government obviously cannot ignore it for long, said Premier Dalton McGuinty.
"The issue is whether or not we should be involved in that, and I think we're going to have to make a call," McGuinty said.
"It's something we can't avoid."
Paul Godfrey, the freshly minted chairman of Ontario Lottery and Gaming, said last week he wants the province to provide Internet gambling instead of watching potential revenues go to other provinces and offshore websites.
Canadian governments know they're losing out on money that's being spent at the more than 2,000 online gambling sites, said Jeff Derevensky of McGill University.
"They've done the studies," said Derevensky, with the university's International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviours.
"If they can recoup a slice of it, then that (money) could be better used in government-run programs."
Allowing the gaming corporation to offer gambling in the wild, unregulated world of the Internet doesn't raise the same type of ethical questions as blocking the sale of beer and wine in corner stores, said McGuinty.
"We can control whether or not there's corner-store sales for beer and wine, (but) Internet gambling is taking place," he said. "The issue is what do we want to do in the face of that." Source...
