Manitoba May be Next on Online Gambling Bandwagon
Manitoba is the latest Canadian province to mull the possibility of introducing online gambling to its citizens.
The Lotteries Minister, Steve Ashton, said that while no final decision has been made just yet, the government is considering the option of launching a legal and regulated online gambling site for the benefit of Manitobans.
Another option is to partner with other provinces to create a common site that would offer online casino games and poker.
Players would thus be able to play at a site that is regulated by the government, providing safeguards such as transfer limits, secure payment and age checks.
"The vast majority of people if they are involved in gaming would prefer a regulated site, I would think," said Ashton.
The government recognizes that with millions of Canadian gambling offshore in any case, it may as well as try to channel the dollars spent at this sites into its own coffers.
However, the government is not prepared to commit to a timeline the way the BC government has. This week the minister responsible for gambling in British Columbia said that a poker site would be up and running by September this year.
"We're looking at it, but no decision has been made," said Ashton. "There will probably be a decision sometime this year. Clearly this is on the agenda. We're going to look at it from all angles."
Even die hard gambling opponents have softened their attitude, with the CEO of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, John Borody stating: "Let's not put our heads in the sand. It is out there. Let's look at opportunities here. There's an opportunity to intervene and that can only be done through a government site."
