by Jerry "Jet" Whittaker

Feb 16, 2007

Canadian online gambling:

Countless people have played blackjack, poker, baccarat and roulette during a night out at the casino or at a charity event. But those are not the only places one can lose money, people around the world are playing and betting from the comfort of their own homes, at Internet casinos and sports betting sites. Canadians spent $11.3 billion to make gambling official. Revenue from government-run lotteries, video lottery terminals and casinos was more than four times higher than a decade previous. There are few figures on how much was spent on online gambling, since the industry is in a legal grey zone in Canada.

Less users of online gambling:

The most recent Canadian statistics recommend that less than one per cent of the population is doing any online gambling. A survey suggested as many as one in 20 Canadian had at least tried gambling online.

Is it legal?

In Canada, central criminal law appears to outlaw setting up a site for online gaming. Paradoxically, Canadian companies, are the major suppliers of Internet gaming software in the world. Gaming itself is the purview of the provinces. So far none of the provinces has ventured into the online gambling world. Consumers wishing to gamble online must listed for a unique code that can then be monitored. If a player is determined to be gambling excessively, they may have counseling recommended or have their access cut off. In Canada, running an online gambling service may be illegal, but betting does not appear to be. The cops investigated and raided Canadian companies suspected of running online service, but international companies are difficult to track and very difficult to hold to account. It is almost not possible to know who is logging on to these sites.

Pros and corns

Mockingly, followers and detractors of legalized online casinos often use the same argument is protection of consumers. The main worry is that online casinos are not the same as land-based ones. It seems Internet gambling is a different sort of activity, in that it is and isolated activity. That may lead to or contribute to gambling addictions as well.

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