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The United States might have something to learn from their
great neighbor to the North, at least when it comes to online casinos. Alberta,
the Canadian province has decided that before legislators make any decisions on
online casino law, a full study will be conducted of the online casino
industry.
A poll aimed at determining Alberta’s feelings about online
casinos is scheduled to be commissioned by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor
Commission. Before making the leap to accepting, taxing, and regulating online
casinos in the province, the commission wants to get a better feel for the
strings tied to online casinos. Telephone calls kicked off the polling last
week and the survey will continue with 800 more Alberta residents being
contacted online.
Commission member Marilyn Carlyle-Helms said of the online
casino survey, “It’s getting a bit of insight into what Albertans are doing
now. Are they playing? And what kind of games are they playing?”
Carlyle-Helms said the commission expects to wrap up the online casino poll in
mid-February and to compute the results in March. It will have statistics on
online casino games like blackjack, poker, and bingo.
Online casinos are, of course, receiving political
opposition from the likes of Liberal Party member Mo Elsalhy. Elsalhy believes
adding online casinos to province income is “a dangerous turn.” He continued,
“We definitely have to talk about weaning the government off its addiction to
gambling revenues.”
Elsalhy believes that online casinos will induce more
spending. “Because you’re at home, your cozy, you’re in your pajamas; you are
actually probably bound to spend more.”
According to Carlyle-Helms, the day when Alberta-based gambling sites operate
online casinos and pay a cut of the profits to the government is some time off.
This year, Alberta is projected to take in $1.4 billion from land based
gambling. A portion of those proceeds will treat addictions by funding the
AADAC. Community programs also benefit from the profits.
Former consultant for the Problem Gambling Resource
Network, Ralph McNabb, is completely against government regulation of online
casinos. He asserts that the people do not want their government involved in
online casinos.
Though his statements are bold, they are backed with more
fury than fact. “The public is fed up with gambling in this province,” said
McNabb. “The government already takes in over $1 billion a year from gambling,
and in the process destroys the lives of countless people.”
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