Thorny issues to be assessed. Loto-Quebec says it won't be leading charge in lucrative business of online wagering
Internet gambling could generate between $300 million and $700 million this year for government coffers in Canada, but lottery authorities have yet to tackle the thorny issues surrounding e-gaming, the president of Loto-Quebec said yesterday.
Canadian lottery corporations are preparing to assess those points at an upcoming meeting, Alain Cousineau said. The debate will include problems like gaming revenue lost from casinos they now operate, jobs lost to offshore operators and the extent of government control in this area.
Should Canadian lottery corporations decide to wade into the profitable realm of online gambling, Loto-Quebec won't be leading the charge, Cousineau said.
"We will be followers. We will not be innovators," he said after a speech he made to Montreal Board of Trade.
Studies done for Loto-Quebec indicate that Quebecers do not want a government agency hosting online gambling, he said.
"There is a huge gap between the level of acceptability in Quebec compared with elsewhere in Canada," Cousineau said.
In his speech, Cousineau reviewed plans for a $1.175-billion casino and entertainment complex at the Peel Basin to be undertaken with the Cirque du Soleil.
The project has yet to receive government approval.
One key reason for the venture is to replace Montreal Casino, which opened in 1993 in the former French pavilion built for Expo 67. That casino has been expanded and enhanced over the years but has lost its lustre - and tourist pull - when compared with the dazzling new casino complexes that are popping up in competing jurisdictions, Cousineau told the luncheon.
When Montreal Casino opened, there were 14 comparable gambling halls in northeastern North America. Now there are more than 70, including Connecticut's Mohegan Sun, which is undergoing a $1-billion (U.S.) expansion, he said.
While casino operators are pouring energy and resources into a crowded casino marketplace, Internet gambling is growing at a clip calibrated in the billions.
Before the luncheon, Cousineau expressed his concern about the complexity of issues pertaining to Internet gambling.
"People say that VLTs are bad, but imagine now (with Internet gambling), it's 24/7 in your own home. You have access to all the games," he said.
Kahnawake, just outside Montreal, plays host to the highest concentration of online gambling sites in the world, he noted.
"They have 18 per cent of the world capacity ... and are hosting sites that come from all over the world," he said.
A recent report by Desjardins Securities said that Kahnawake was the world's most popular host for online gambling sites, with over one-fifth of the top 500 online casinos based there.
The second-biggest host jurisdiction was Britain, with about 15 per cent of the business. Last year, the global industry generated an estimated $7.5 billion (U.S.) in revenues.
According to the Criminal Code, only provinces and territories can operate gambling ventures. Provincial police routinely say that are investigating Mohawk Internet Technologies, but no charges have been laid.
Cousineau told reporters that he had recently received an estimate about the potential of e-gaming in the Canadian market.
"We need to sensitize legislatures about the importance of e-gaming and its consequences," he told The Gazette.
In the United States, the current thinking is, "If we can't prevent it, we are going to control it. We will mandate organizations to act responsibly," Cousineau said.
An independent assessment of the economic value of Internet gambling in Canada is contained in a report that will be discussed at the meeting of provincial lottery corporations. Further details on the report were not forthcoming from Loto-Quebec or the Interprovincial Lottery Corp.
Ivan Sack, publisher of the Ontario-based Canadian Gaming News, said the Interprovincial Lottery Corp., which all the provincial lottery bodies belong to, had struck a committee dedicated to Internet gambling issues, which was active "on and off for years."
"They brought things as far as they could without actually doing anything," Sack said. "It's really a political issue."
Provincial gambling corporations have been dipping their toes into e-gambling, Sack said.
Recent examples he cited:
Loto-Quebec subsidiary Ingenio produced North America's first Internet lottery game, Cyber Slingo, which was first sold to New Jersey Lottery and has since been sold, along with sister games, to other jurisdictions.
The lottery corporations in Atlantic Canada have allowed consumers to purchase lottery tickets online since July 2004.
The Canadian Pari Mutuel Agency gave its approval to Toronto horse-racing track operator Woodbine Entertainment Group to launch an Internet gambling site to process bets on horse races.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/mont....html?id=08f8ebb8-a3ac-4d12-b4b5-a3f6cd69a948
Internet gambling could generate between $300 million and $700 million this year for government coffers in Canada, but lottery authorities have yet to tackle the thorny issues surrounding e-gaming, the president of Loto-Quebec said yesterday.
Canadian lottery corporations are preparing to assess those points at an upcoming meeting, Alain Cousineau said. The debate will include problems like gaming revenue lost from casinos they now operate, jobs lost to offshore operators and the extent of government control in this area.
Should Canadian lottery corporations decide to wade into the profitable realm of online gambling, Loto-Quebec won't be leading the charge, Cousineau said.
"We will be followers. We will not be innovators," he said after a speech he made to Montreal Board of Trade.
Studies done for Loto-Quebec indicate that Quebecers do not want a government agency hosting online gambling, he said.
"There is a huge gap between the level of acceptability in Quebec compared with elsewhere in Canada," Cousineau said.
In his speech, Cousineau reviewed plans for a $1.175-billion casino and entertainment complex at the Peel Basin to be undertaken with the Cirque du Soleil.
The project has yet to receive government approval.
One key reason for the venture is to replace Montreal Casino, which opened in 1993 in the former French pavilion built for Expo 67. That casino has been expanded and enhanced over the years but has lost its lustre - and tourist pull - when compared with the dazzling new casino complexes that are popping up in competing jurisdictions, Cousineau told the luncheon.
When Montreal Casino opened, there were 14 comparable gambling halls in northeastern North America. Now there are more than 70, including Connecticut's Mohegan Sun, which is undergoing a $1-billion (U.S.) expansion, he said.
While casino operators are pouring energy and resources into a crowded casino marketplace, Internet gambling is growing at a clip calibrated in the billions.
Before the luncheon, Cousineau expressed his concern about the complexity of issues pertaining to Internet gambling.
"People say that VLTs are bad, but imagine now (with Internet gambling), it's 24/7 in your own home. You have access to all the games," he said.
Kahnawake, just outside Montreal, plays host to the highest concentration of online gambling sites in the world, he noted.
"They have 18 per cent of the world capacity ... and are hosting sites that come from all over the world," he said.
A recent report by Desjardins Securities said that Kahnawake was the world's most popular host for online gambling sites, with over one-fifth of the top 500 online casinos based there.
The second-biggest host jurisdiction was Britain, with about 15 per cent of the business. Last year, the global industry generated an estimated $7.5 billion (U.S.) in revenues.
According to the Criminal Code, only provinces and territories can operate gambling ventures. Provincial police routinely say that are investigating Mohawk Internet Technologies, but no charges have been laid.
Cousineau told reporters that he had recently received an estimate about the potential of e-gaming in the Canadian market.
"We need to sensitize legislatures about the importance of e-gaming and its consequences," he told The Gazette.
In the United States, the current thinking is, "If we can't prevent it, we are going to control it. We will mandate organizations to act responsibly," Cousineau said.
An independent assessment of the economic value of Internet gambling in Canada is contained in a report that will be discussed at the meeting of provincial lottery corporations. Further details on the report were not forthcoming from Loto-Quebec or the Interprovincial Lottery Corp.
Ivan Sack, publisher of the Ontario-based Canadian Gaming News, said the Interprovincial Lottery Corp., which all the provincial lottery bodies belong to, had struck a committee dedicated to Internet gambling issues, which was active "on and off for years."
"They brought things as far as they could without actually doing anything," Sack said. "It's really a political issue."
Provincial gambling corporations have been dipping their toes into e-gambling, Sack said.
Recent examples he cited:
Loto-Quebec subsidiary Ingenio produced North America's first Internet lottery game, Cyber Slingo, which was first sold to New Jersey Lottery and has since been sold, along with sister games, to other jurisdictions.
The lottery corporations in Atlantic Canada have allowed consumers to purchase lottery tickets online since July 2004.
The Canadian Pari Mutuel Agency gave its approval to Toronto horse-racing track operator Woodbine Entertainment Group to launch an Internet gambling site to process bets on horse races.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/mont....html?id=08f8ebb8-a3ac-4d12-b4b5-a3f6cd69a948
