Ontario to Introduce Online Gambling

Submitted by Beth on Tue, 2010-02-23 at 21:04

The new chairman of the Ontario Lottery Gaming Association (OLG), Paul Godfrey, is considering online gambling as a way to make money for the province that will go to boosting the economy. He insists that it is the best way to keep revenue at home instead of the money going to offshore online casinos.

The suggestion was made as several other Canadian provinces are legalizing online gambling. Canada is slowly warming up to the idea of online gambling although there are still many people who are vehemently opposed to the idea. They are more concerned about the consequences to society than the anticipated income for the province.

Godfrey has stepped up to the task of heading the OLG after his predecessor was fired for questionable spending of company money. The investigation caused a great deal of upset after Ontario lottery players found out what he was up to.

He argues that online casinos already exist in the province of Ontario but are unregulated. Officially adding the option to the lottery gaming system would help the government to monitor the proceedings and ensure that operators are running the games fairly and without bias. The government will also be able to monitor any problem gambling patterns and would therefore be able to interject.

Godfrey has put the idea into motion as the search has already begun for a possible CEO.