Undeterred by the problems facing online gambling in British Columbia, the Canadian province of Ontario is looking into legalized gambling as a source of revenue. The cash-strapped province could rake in $500 million in windfall profits, according to the Liberal Party.

The province is facing a deficit of $19.7 billion and is looking for ways to add revenue. One possibility the Liberal-led government, including Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, is actively exploring is online gambling. Canadians living in the province are already betting on overseas casinos and the government is losing out on that revenue. By regulating and taxing an intra-province online gambling industry, the government could add an additional $500 million to the $1.9 billion the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) made in 2009.

If they open online gambling to residents of Ontario, the province could follow British Columbia’s lead and have the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation run the casino. OLG Chairman Paul Godfrey supports the idea, saying that “money is going out of this province to other provinces as well as offshore sites.”

The plan is not without its controversy, though. Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak is wary of any plan that would put the OLG in charge of a government-run online casino. Citing scandals involving suspicious lottery wins by insiders as well as other problems, Hudak asked “Who is going to trust Dalton McGuinty to run an online casino?”

The Tory leader ridiculed the Premier’s record regarding the Lottery and Gaming Corporation, saying that “this guy has had two consecutive major scandals at the OLGC, they’ve gone through five CEOs, they can’t run the existing casinos,” let alone online casinos. Hudak said that the government is looking for more and more tax money without concern for the safety of the people.

If there have been scandals involving the lottery already, putting them in charge of an online casino seems like a bad idea. Maybe letting existing online casinos operate in the province and charging them a licensing fee (and perhaps taxing them) would be a better idea. Certainly, British Columbia’s debacle with their PlayNow.com website should be taken into consideration as well.

Tags: British Columbia online casino, Canada online casino, Canada online gambling, Dalton McGuinty, online casino, online gambling, Ontario Gaming and Lottery Corporation, Ontario online casino, Ontario online gambling, PlayNow.com, Tim Hudak

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