Canadian Legalization of Online Gambling

June Cotte, a marketing associate professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario has called for the legalization of online gambling to allow for better regulation and to potentially reduce harmful effects.
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“One potential solution is to allow legitimate corporate sponsors, like the corporations that run the major casinos in Las Vegas or the government sponsors in Canada, to enter into a newly regulated market for online gambling,” opined the academician. “Just as legalised commercial gambling in casinos allows governments to regulate it, so, too, could the legalisation of online gambling
allow for better regulation and attempts to reduce the growth of problem gamblers.”
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CNW reports that Cotte and colleague Kathryn A. Latour from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, carried out a study, “Blackjack in the Kitchen: Understanding Online Versus Casino Gambling,” which is to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research in the winter of 2009.
The duo interviewed 20 regular casino gamblers and 10 regular online gamblers using pictures as stimuli to learn what gambling feels like and how it is perceived. Results show online gamblers gamble more frequently and aggressively, and the indications are that this is because [land] casino gambling, which requires travel to an outside location, is more difficult to hide.
In contrast, access to online gambling is easily integrated into daily home routines, meaning more time can be spent on gambling. Online gambling lacks social interaction so participants are involved for the game, rather than other aspects, which may appeal to gamblers’ competitive streak.
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“The unregulated online environment results in a more chaotic environment with no clear social norms and rules,” said Cotte. “The meaning of gambling changes, moving from a shared conviviality available in the casino to a no-holds-barred battle online. It brings out the gamblers’ more competitive side.”
Cotte observes that although online gambling is illegal or in a legal grey area in Canada and the U.S., except when initiated by Canada’s provincial lottery corporations, it is still easily accessible through Internet companies located offshore. According
to the study, more than $10 billion annually is spent worldwide by consumers on online gambling.
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In contrast, casino gambling, which is now legal in all but two U.S. states, is highly regulated and scrutinised. Cotte and Latour suggest that legalizing and regulating online gambling, similar to the way casino gambling is regulated, may help reduce the incidences of problem gambling.
The academicians suggest that the following elements could be tied into online gambling regulations:

* Better use of age checks when signing up for an online account;
* Cross-checking new users with lists of pathological gamblers;
* Setting financial limits on gambling and having the site communicate to gamblers spending long hours and excessive money;
* Making information available about problem gambling treatments via pop-ups on instant messages;
* Having an online gambling counselor available online;
* Mandatory “cooling-off periods,” which force online gamblers to stop gambling for a pre-set amount of time before they are allowed to wager money from their accounts;
* Making tabulations of wins and losses more central and larger on the computer screen to increase the players’ awareness of where they stand.
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The study also recommends that online gambling casinos minimise the use of bold, flashing graphics to signal wins in order to moderate the ‘emotional experience’ for gamblers.

Younger Canadians Favour Online Gambling

In Canada, a national survey has found that young adults are more interested in ‘technology driven’ options such as online gambling than are their older counterparts.
According to a piece in the Montreal Gazette, pollster Allan Gregg told the 2008 Canadian Gaming Summit that one-third of Canadians said that they are gambling less than they did three years ago while those under 35 are more likely to be gambling more.

He told about 200 Summit participants that online sportsbetting and web-based poker games were considered acceptable forms of gambling by 56 per cent of those aged 18 to 34, according to a recent survey of 3,047 Canadians.

But, the same survey found that only 20 per cent of those over 55 and just 35 percent of those over 35 favoured online sports wagering. He stated that younger people were also more supportive of interactive online lottery games, buying lottery tickets through a mobile device or playing casino games for money via in-home televisions.

Paul Burns, Vice-President of the Canadian Gaming Association, told the newspaper that, although current laws prohibit most forms of electronic or online gambling in Canada, citizens spend up to $400 million a year over the Internet by accessing computer servers based in foreign jurisdictions or on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake.

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Number One Canadian Entertainment

Canadian Gaming Association claims gambling is “Canada’s largest and most financially significant entertainment industry.”

Gambling is Canadian’s favorite entertainment, according to a report by the Canadian Gaming Association released this week which claims that the pastime is: “Canada’s largest and most financially significant entertainment industry.” It accounts for 267 000 full-time jobs and contributes Cdn$15.3-billion a year to the economy.

The industry group’s latest report is based on 2006 data and reveals that 57 percent of gambling revenue - Cdn$8.7-billion - supports government services and charities. The other $6.6-billion “…was spent to sustain operations, paid out as salaries, and used to purchase goods and services.”

Canadian Press says that the gaming association’s research, described as the most comprehensive study ever conducted on the economic impact of gaming in Canada, found 135 000 people are directly employed in the industry, and indirect gambling-related employment such as food and entertainment services swells the total to 267 000 full-time jobs. For 2006, this translated into Cdn$11.6-billion in labor income, the association says.

“Gaming has grown significantly over the past decade to become an essential pillar of the entertainment industry in Canada,” association president Bill Rutsey said. “It is now demonstrably clear how the majority of spending in the industry goes directly back to Canadians in the form of paycheques, construction in communities, and revenues for the programs and services and charities that we value.”

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