Ontario to Ban Online Gambling Ads
Ontario will seek to ban advertising for gambling websites, citing their growing popularity among the province's youth.
The sites are illegal under the federal Criminal Code, but Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips said Ottawa has not made the issue a high priority.
On Thursday, Phillips will introduce a bill to ban the ads, arguing that online gambling is attracting a young demographic and is essentially unregulated.
"There's no doubt that there's a substantial number of young people who are participating on these illegal gambling sites," he told CTV.ca on Wednesday.
He also cited another problem: the impact on the province's horseracing industry. The Criminal Code makes an exception for online racetrack betting.
"In the province of Ontario we've got a very large horseracing industry -- the breeders, the people who run the farms and the racetracks -- and it's very good business," said Phillips.
"They say to us, 'We operate legally, we're doing everything we should, and yet our business is being hurt by these illegal activities.'"
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A taxing problem
Critics argue that Ontario has a large investment in gambling revenue, receiving $1.5 billion in net income during the last fiscal year, but has no way to tax gambling websites. According to a government spokesperson, the global Internet gambling market has tripled since 2001 to $12 billion.
"I guess on the one hand, you could justify it on the fact that online gaming is not regulated, whereas the gambling and casinos and slot machines are regulated within the province," Dr. Nigel Turner, a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, told CTV.ca on Wednesday.
"But realistically, it's because they can't tax the online gaming industry in the way it's currently being offered. I think that has more to do with it than anything else."
According to a 2006 report by the Ontario government-financed Responsible Gambling Council, Internet gambling is one of the few forms of gambling on the rise. From 2001 to 2005, it increased from 0.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent in the province.
The report's definition of Internet gambling included video lottery terminals and online day trading, but found that 62.3 per cent of those surveyed used online poker games.
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While online gambling is a growing issue, Turner said "it still makes up a relatively small percentage of gambling problems. When we interviewed youth, most of the youth who have gambling problems were betting on sports or playing cards with each other."
However, the trend of online poker websites is becoming popular with young adults, because of the popularity of the World Series of Poker and various other televised tournaments.
Turner said there are several aspects to how doctors treat people who are addicted to gambling, depending on the underlying cause. Some patients have an impulse control disorder, which can be treated with medication. Other patients gamble because of an emotional problem.
"If they're gambling to deal with depression, then you may want to deal with the depression in order to solve the gambling problem," said Turner.
"On the other hand, if they're gambling because they believe they can actually win, then you need to address those irrational beliefs."
The sites are illegal under the federal Criminal Code, but Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips said Ottawa has not made the issue a high priority.
On Thursday, Phillips will introduce a bill to ban the ads, arguing that online gambling is attracting a young demographic and is essentially unregulated.
"There's no doubt that there's a substantial number of young people who are participating on these illegal gambling sites," he told CTV.ca on Wednesday.
He also cited another problem: the impact on the province's horseracing industry. The Criminal Code makes an exception for online racetrack betting.
"In the province of Ontario we've got a very large horseracing industry -- the breeders, the people who run the farms and the racetracks -- and it's very good business," said Phillips.
"They say to us, 'We operate legally, we're doing everything we should, and yet our business is being hurt by these illegal activities.'"
Play poker.com with real people for fun or money
A taxing problem
Critics argue that Ontario has a large investment in gambling revenue, receiving $1.5 billion in net income during the last fiscal year, but has no way to tax gambling websites. According to a government spokesperson, the global Internet gambling market has tripled since 2001 to $12 billion.
"I guess on the one hand, you could justify it on the fact that online gaming is not regulated, whereas the gambling and casinos and slot machines are regulated within the province," Dr. Nigel Turner, a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, told CTV.ca on Wednesday.
"But realistically, it's because they can't tax the online gaming industry in the way it's currently being offered. I think that has more to do with it than anything else."
According to a 2006 report by the Ontario government-financed Responsible Gambling Council, Internet gambling is one of the few forms of gambling on the rise. From 2001 to 2005, it increased from 0.6 per cent to 1.7 per cent in the province.
The report's definition of Internet gambling included video lottery terminals and online day trading, but found that 62.3 per cent of those surveyed used online poker games.
Try the newest poker.com software on the net!
While online gambling is a growing issue, Turner said "it still makes up a relatively small percentage of gambling problems. When we interviewed youth, most of the youth who have gambling problems were betting on sports or playing cards with each other."
However, the trend of online poker websites is becoming popular with young adults, because of the popularity of the World Series of Poker and various other televised tournaments.
Turner said there are several aspects to how doctors treat people who are addicted to gambling, depending on the underlying cause. Some patients have an impulse control disorder, which can be treated with medication. Other patients gamble because of an emotional problem.
"If they're gambling to deal with depression, then you may want to deal with the depression in order to solve the gambling problem," said Turner.
"On the other hand, if they're gambling because they believe they can actually win, then you need to address those irrational beliefs."
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