The online gambling craze is slowly taking over Canada, province by province. Now that British Columbia has (somewhat) successfully launched its own online gambling website, politicians in other areas are considering doing the same. However, not everyone is on the same page.
Tom Marshall, Finance Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador is not convinced that online gambling will be well-received in the province.
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation has been granted permission by Prince Edward Island’s government to enter the online gambling market. The ALC is now looking to get the other Atlantic provinces on board, but Marshall does not believe that his province will accept the offer.
Today, he stepped forward to say that he does not believe cabinet will be interested in the idea of legalizing and regulating online gambling in Newfoundland and Labrador. He will bring the idea to cabinet, but does not expect a positive response.
“If you look at the government’s record, it has reduced gambling in the province”, he says. “Anyone who assumed the government would go along with online gambling was obviously making an error in judgment.
Newfoundland is not the only province that is not interested in online gambling. Alberta, as well, is resisting the opportunity, as it is one of the few provinces that is not deep in debt. Although opening state-run online casinos benefits provinces financially, Alberta and Newfoundland think they are doing just fine on their own.
