In a recent press conference, the government of Ontario has revealed its six-year plan to expand online and on land gambling that is likely to raise provincial tax revenues worth Cdn $1.3 million.
According to the provincial finance minister, an internet gaming site, which is secure and socially responsible, will show its web presence by 2013. Ontario Lottery and Gaming runs this site. It will assist in compensating for the loss that comes from the growing competition posed by the overseas online gambling sites.
The chairman of Ontario Lottery and Gaming, hinted on provincial law amendments to permit residents of Ontario to purchase online lottery tickets liberally. According to the chairman, this move is expected to increase gambling revenues and help overcome the deficit of around Cdn $16 billion, which the province is facing this year.
Besides this, the government is considering relocating or closing poorly performing land casinos. It intends to open newer ones that are easily accessible to players and provide a wide horizon of slots, not confining them to race tracks.
What Ontario Needs is a Modern Gambling Industry
The need of the hour is to modernize gambling in Ontario. The tough competition from offshore online casino sites is threatening the income flow. About Cdn $2 billion is allotted to the province every year, according to provincial officials. The decreasing US traffic is also one of the reasons to worry.
The plan is anticipated to add $4.6 billion over a period of six years. It may also generate around 2300 new employment opportunities in the gaming industry. About 4000 service industry jobs are also expected to surface at restaurants, hotels, retail, and entertainment industries with this move.
According to Minister Duncan, the focus of the six-year plan is to generate employment opportunities and provide state-of-the-art gaming facilities to players.
The Gaming Industry Could Do with Some Private Help
Interestingly, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming intends to increase the involvement of the private sector by providing private operators a chance to run all its gaming facilities. It also plans to provide private operators the authority to take over the existing 4000 gaming employees who work for this body. Also, it expects the operators to fund the expansion plan and increase the facilities from 27 to 29 by the year 2017-18.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming is seeking private sector involvement not only for online gaming facilities, but also for the new land casinos that the government plans to open in Greater Toronto area and, maybe, in Ottawa too.
According to Ontario Lottery and Gaming officials, 26 communities are already interested in taking over a new casino. This shows that the provincial plans are in the right direction and have already started showing results.
If all goes as planned, it can boost the province’s gaming industry and even change the way things are going on for gamblers. Currently, the threat of offshore competition is looming large over the industry. If no timely moves are taken, it can take a toll of the gambling industry.