Canadians May Get Legal Internet Sports Gambling
The NFL may bully US lawmakers into obeying its whims regarding online casinos, but Canada cares about satisfying its citizens, not pleasing the football corporation. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which runs gambling in eastern Canada, is investigating bringing Internet sports wagering to its lottery system.Michael Lipton, an attorney specializing in Canadian gaming law, told the Nova Scotia Chronicle-Herald that the lottery could install online sports betting without any change in statutes. The only restrictions would be that patrons from countries where the gaming would be illegal would be barred, and other Canadian provinces would have to grant permission for their residents to play.
The lottery is reportedly searching for the proper software system and administrative team to run online gambling on sports. Regarding a possible expansion of games, the lottery website says,"In order to remain relevant to our players we must deliver what the player wants in the safest and most entertaining way possible."
At least one lawmaker publicly worried about increasing gaming, saying it might result in a spread of problem gambling. But recent scientific news has confirmed that online gambling poses less of a danger than land-based gaming, and Nova Scotia in particular reports an extremely low number of problem gambling incidents.
"The Internet is with us, all around us at all time. The upshot is that (users) have learned to trust the system. There are jurisdictions that have very high standards that regulate them,"’ said Lipton, discussing legislative mistrust of online systems. He estimated online sports wagering could generate as much as $400 million a year for provincial revenues.
