Reactions to Ontario Gambling Expansion Proposal
The Ontario gambling expansion proposal outlined by provincial Finance Minister has raised some hackles in the responsible gambling lobby.
The plan involves the modernisation of Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), making lottery tickets available online and in prominent retail shopping areas, a new land casino in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), private sector involvement in running casinos, and an online gambling portal operated by OLG by 2013.
The Ontario provincial government's argument is that people want to gamble. Today much of this gambling is conducted at offshore online gambling sites that allegedly do not pay the required attention to responsible gambling. No revenue accrues to the province from these gambling transactions.
As such, Ontario's gambling expansion is expected to bring in additional revenue of $1 billion a year, create new jobs and set up an improved responsible gambling programme, on which the province already spends $50 million per year.
Problem Gambling Concerns in Ontario's Gambling Expansion
Those in Ontario who are involved with problem gambling prevention have reacted strongly to this proposal.
Jeffrey Derevensky, a problem gambling expert from McGill University, said that the poor economy is the biggest boon to the gambling industry. He has called the Ontario gambling expansion proposal an economic decision intended to target both locals and tourists.
Robert Murray, the manager of CAMH's Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario, made a very pertinent observation. He said, "It seems to be no matter who the government of the day is, they're against gambling expansion out of office, but as soon as they get in, it's acceptable."
Murray does not propose a prohibition on gambling, but is aware of the backlash that will result from increased easy access to gambling.
Some support for the provincial government has come from Jamie Wiebe, the director of the Responsible Gambling Council Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices. Wiebe credits the government with sincerity in its initiative to minimize problem gambling.
An indication of this is that the Ontario gambling expansion does not include video lottery terminals (VLTs). Derevensky calls VLTs the "crack cocaine of the gambling world". It brings in a lot of money for the operators but gets people addicted to gambling because of instant access.
It is for this reason that the Responsible Gambling Council is wary of the online gambling part in Ontario's proposal. Online gambling and mobile gambling allow for instant access. An estimated 3.4% of the province's population are problem gamblers who would be tempted by the ease with which they can gamble online.
Speaking about the gambling industry Murray said, "It sells us a dream, a really good story when people win . . . but they don't tell the story of the people who are losers."
