Online gambling coming to Ontario in 2012

“Across Canada and around the world, online commerce is part of our everyday lives and OLG is excited to start the consultation process for online gaming and growing its marketplace in the future,” said Godfrey. He added: “OLG’s Internet gaming program will stress responsible gaming while providing an enjoyable experience for Ontario players.”

The Star disclosed on Saturday that Premier Dalton McGuinty’s administration, saddled with a us$ 19.7 billion budget deficit, is “exploring” the possibility of expanding the gambling industry.

The hope is that an additional us$ 400 million that is currently being gambled by Ontarians on offshore websites will stay in the province and boost OLG’s profits. Last year, the gambling monopoly generated us$ 1.9 billion, which helped fund schools, hospitals and other public works.

On Monday, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak warned Ontario taxpayers should be leery about McGuinty bringing Internet gaming here. While Hudak has praised Godfrey for coming in to clean up troubled OLG, he said the Liberals should proceed with caution. “Who is going to trust Dalton McGuinty to run an online casino?” the Tory leader said. “Listen, 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 Internet gambling,” he said.

“They have a voracious appetite for more and more tax dollars. They can’t control the OLGC as it is. This will be a disaster if Dalton McGuinty is running an online casino.”

Stung by offshore websites cashing in on the demand for Internet gaming, governments around the world have been legalizing online betting.

British Columbia, which last month became the first province or state in North America to offer legalized online casino gambling, has estimated it was losing us$ 100 million to illegal websites abroad.