Rumbings in Canada ...
Ontario wants to curb Net gambling
Regulation likely after probe is completed later this year
Tom Blackwell
The Ottawa Citizen (July 18)
TORONTO -- The Ontario government has quietly begun studying whether it can put curbs on the burgeoning -- and largely unregulated -- world of Internet gambling.
Action could come after an internal report is completed later this year, a government spokeswoman said yesterday.
One expert calls the business a "wild west" industry that has so far managed to bypass Canadian laws barring virtually anyone outside government from running gambling operations.
The province is particularly concerned about young people getting access to on-line casinos, whether the games are run honestly and whether they're adding to problem gambling, said Karen Vaux, a spokeswoman for Management Board Chairman Chris Hodgson, the province's gaming minister.
An Internet gaming working group representing four ministries has begun studying the field and is slated to issue a report with recommendations for action in late summer or early fall, she said.
"Let's face it, the Internet is expanding at an exponential rate and the government has to be aware of all the problems related to Internet gaming and be able to address them in a timely fashion," said Ms. Vaux.
"How can you be assured that when your child is playing on the Internet, they're not gambling? Issues like that have always been a concern to the government."
But one expert says the province faces a formidable challenge trying to regulate gaming on the net.
Hundreds of casino Web sites have popped up in recent years, generated by computers located around the world, said Rick Broadhead, author of the Canadian Internet Handbook.
Canada is a leader in the on-line casino business, but firms here that own such operations often locate the computer servers that run the casinos in countries like Antigua, circumventing Canadian law.
No one has come up with a way to regulate such international operations, he said.
"How much jurisdiction does the Ontario government have over sites that are servicing people in Ontario, but don't physically reside here?" asked Mr. Broadhead.
"You know the problem exists, but how do you control it?"
People should also assume that some of the operations are less than honest, he said. "It's a bit like the wild west out there.
"I have no doubt that some of these sites are operating dishonestly. The question is 'How do you know?' "
One strategy might be for governments to inspect Internet casinos and give their seal of approval to those that can prove they're not defrauding players, he said.
Ms. Vaux said the government realizes it won't be easy to apply Criminal Code gambling rules to cyber businesses that straddle borders, especially when there is little international policing of the area.
Ontario may at least need help from the federal government before taking any action, she said, since gambling laws are a federal jurisdiction.
The working group draws from the Management Board, Solicitor General's, Consumer and Health ministries. |
