Alberta still undecided on online gambling

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission continues to study the issue of online gambling legalisation and the experiences of British Columbia, Ontario, Mantitoba and Quebec, which have already regulated and licensed the pastime.

Judging by remarks this weekend by Joe Ceci, the provincial government’s new Finance Minister, the AGLC may be leaning toward regulation.

Ceci said that he was at present neutral on the commission’s plan to improve and increase its gambling offerings by creating an online casino like those run by eight of 10 other Canadian provinces.

“AGLC is a significant revenue line for the province (contributing about 5 percent of all government revenues) … and they have come and told me about their hopes and dreams for the future,” Ceci said.

“I don’t stand anywhere yet because I haven’t seen the results of the commission’s consultations with industry providers of online gaming systems,” he told the Calgary Herald.

But it appears that a better awareness of modern online gambling and the technologies used by reputable operators to guard against money laundering and underage/problem gambling is needed in the province, judging by some of the poorly informed comments from anti-gambling bodies.

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