Objections to Ontario Online Casinos

August 17, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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There has been much support for legalized online casinos in the Canadian province of Ontario, and officials say that they expect that online casinos will be offered to the public by 2012. There is already an online lottery, and online casinos will be added to the existing online gambling that is already permitted in the province.

In a statement released by the Canadian Auto Workers President, Ken Lewenza, he spoke out against online gaming in Ontario, saying: "Internet gaming facilitates serious gambling addictions wherein participants can spend thousands of dollars without ever leaving their homes or coming into contact with another human being."

It should be noted that the Canadian Auto Workers union, which is a particularly powerful union, organized over 7,000 gaming employees for land-based gaming concerns. One does need to wonder if the leaders of this union truly believe that those who gamble online are at greater risk of gambling addiction, or if perhaps they are concerned that online gambling may be chosen over land-based gambling, and would thereby reduce the number of jobs available for their union members.

Studies have shown that there is no greater risk of gambling addiction for those that play online as opposed to those that gamble in land-based establishments.

Ontario is desperate for a way to fund their multi-million dollar deficit, and legalizing online gambling in the province is likely to provide funds in the form of taxes. It has been estimated that within five years, Ontario online gambling could earn up to $100 million per year.

At this time, the estimates as to how much online gambling money is wagered by Ontario residents at offshore online casinos is around $1 billion annually. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has noted that this estimated amount of money is leaving the province of Ontario, and no tax is being paid to the authorities at all.

The leaders of the Canadian Auto Workers union complained about how many jobs would be lost by allowing online casinos, since there would most likely be cutbacks for those working in land-based casinos.

Lewenza said: "It could lead to a loss of jobs at a time when the province cannot afford it. This should also be taken into account."

Others, however, noted that while there are likely to be jobs lost at land-based gambling concerns, there are likely to be a number of jobs opened up in order to run the new online casinos.

At this time, players and those involved in the industry are simply waiting to see if there will be any serious repercussions because of the position taken by the Canadian Auto Workers union.

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