Canada
B.C. to offer casino-style gambling online
The B.C. government will today launch a major expansion of online gambling, including a move that will make the province the first in North America to legalize and regulate online casino games, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman, who oversees the B.C. Lottery Corp., is expected this morning to announce 75 new online games for the corporation's website, Playnow.com.
BCLC president Michael Graydon is also expected to be at the announcement, which is being held on Granville Island.
The games will be broken into separate categories, including bingo, lottery, sports betting and casino games. The casino-style games are expected to include blackjack, roulette and poker, among others.
The B.C. Lottery Corp.'s website was taken down Wednesday, and a message on the site said both BCLC.com and PlayNow.com would relaunch as of noon today.
Today’s online expansion follows a move by the B.C. Lottery Corp. last August to dramatically increase the weekly limit for players on Playnow.com, bringing the cap to $9,999 a week, up from the previous limit of $120 a week.
At the time of that increase, the corporation raised the possibility of casino-style games going online, adding they may be designed so players could access them not only from computers, but also from portable devices, such as an iPhone, BlackBerry or iPad.
A spokeswoman for BCLC refused to comment on Wednesday about today's announcement and Coleman did not return calls.
The corporation has previously said only registered members whose ages and addresses have been verified will be able to open an account capable of reaching the weekly $9,999 limit.
The government has said one of the benefits of expanding online gambling is to provide a provincially regulated alternative to private websites, which do not include the same supports for problem gambling.
The new PlayNow.com website is expected to include visible links to support programs for people who may be seeking help with a gambling addiction or related problem. There will also be safeguards in place to ensure proper online security and reminders about responsible gambling.
New Democratic Party critic for housing and social development Shane Simpson said he believes the province has so far "failed miserably" on the issue of dealing with problem gamblers, and he’s worried today's announcement will only make matters worse.
"It really is all about expanding that revenue stream, which on the face of it is not a bad thing, but it seems to be being done with very little concern for the impact on problem gamblers, and very little concern about the criminal element," he said, adding there are potential issues around money laundering with the expanded online site.
"It's irresponsible for the government to go into these massive expansions of these programs without dealing with the issues around problem gambling and the criminal element," he said. "All the evidence to date shows they’ve failed miserably in terms of those programs and the effectiveness of those programs."
In 2009, the government cut the Responsible Gambling Strategy and the Problem Gambling Program by 34 per cent, dropping funding to $4.6 million from $7 million the year before.
Coleman's ministry said at the time of the cut that it would continue to offer "core services," including a 24-hour help line, clinical counsellors and responsible-gambling officers in casinos.
According to the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, gambling in B.C. generated revenues of about $2.52 billion dollars in 2009-10.
After expenses, including prize payouts and other costs, government revenues from gambling for that year were about $1.07 billion.
Today's announcement also comes as the B.C. Lottery Corp. is working with some other provinces to create what could become a nationwide online gambling network.
In May, a gambling consultant working with Atlantic Lottery said that organization and Loto-Quebec would be launching a common online platform this fall, and that he expected other provinces to follow suit within about 18 months.
It is not clear if today's announcement is directly linked to this effort, although the new online games will put B.C. at the leading edge of whatever arrangement is made between provinces.
(Published by The Vancouver Sun – July 14, 2010)