Ontario is the latest province to decide to launch its own online casino, but it has met with a great deal of opposition from mental health workers. Now, the Responsible Gambling Council has vowed to find the safest way to provide online gambling to the residents of Ontario.
During the 18 months that it will take for the government to launch the website, the Responsible Gambling Council will work closely with the developers to implement systems that will prevent online gambling. There are plenty of safeguards that can be put in place, which are more difficult to implement in land-based casinos – self exclusion programs, for example.
There is also the self commitment program, where players can decide in advance how much they want to spend while gambling online. This way, they can avoid overspending and falling into the trap that many gambling addictions fall prey to.
In bringing a formerly underground industry to the mainstream, it is important for the government to address the dangers of doing so. As such, the commitment to preventing online gambling addiction has been applauded by many members of the community, and it will be interesting to see if the government will hold true to their word.
