The BCLC does not have a monopoly on on-line gambling. If the limits aren't up to what people want, they'll go elsewhere to gamble, whether it's online or to their local casino.

I am clueless as to the laws regrding both gambling and especially internet gambling in this rovince as well as others and federally.

Unless there is some law in place in Canada which can actually enforce gambling on the internet, such as is in place in the USA, limits really do not matter if people are persistent. Perhaps that is why the "limits" were raised since a significant amount of money might be bleeding from the country.

I would like to hear not only from an addiction expert, something most people already know about, but from an expert that can follow the money that is gambled by Canadians on line and where it goes to.

Does anyone know where those gaming companies actually are and which province or state or country they actually report their earnings to and pay money to, if any?

Here is an article on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of the USA http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/67943.html?wlc=1251833467

Some information on here dealing with legality from several countries.

The WTO position is interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_gambling

We can discuss the legalities ad nauseum, but it doesn't take long to find multiple websites that will gladly take your money (assuming you have a credit card) and allow you to play poker or blackjack or whatever you want for hundreds of dollars a hand or spin.

I do agree that there needs to be more accountability and transparency for where the money received from gambling revenues go.

I have never seen anyone checking at the casino on how much people loose. It would seem illogical to police purchasing of lotto tickets, but let the casinos bleed people dry.

Unfortunately, if you don't let people feed their addictions at legitimate casinos, you only would have a problem with underground clubs that are not regulated, and run by not the nicest people.

Just because you outlaw something, doesn't mean people will not do it, just that criminal organizations have a new area to profit.

Gambling.

Worst addition ever.

And I'm not talking about the gambler.

Out governments (including municipal) are addicted to it.

What would our provincial budget look like without gaming revenue. And what about the city?

It's a good thing Grandma Joe and her friends are throwing so much of their life savings (and debt?) down the black hole; your health care depends on it!

But then again, let's not forget that gaming is "entertainment." Go look at the faces of the people playing the slots - they sure looked entertained, don't they?

It is not about stopping gambling all together, surely? Dr. Lu said, "the anonymity, the ease of access, will increase the problems of gambling". The article also refers to the number of steps necessary to gamble.

If someone has to go out in the middle of winter to a casino with cash, it requires more determination and foresight than simply sitting at a computer with Firefox and clicking a link, then charging it to a credit card. That alone would reduce gambling to a degree. Why make it so easy?

Why not forbid casinos to have cash machines? Forbid them from having credit and debit card facilities. Do something similar for online gambling that makes it a more deliberate act rather than a spur of the moment thing. It won't stop gambling, but it would make it more difficult and, through that, reduce the amount.

"But then again, let's not forget that gaming is "entertainment." Go look at the faces of the people playing the slots - they sure looked entertained, don't they?"

Look at the face of anybody concentrating on something. They don't always have a big toothy grin. Besides, when you're losing, what's to smile about? Surely, 99% of the people playing the slots lose money, no matter what anecdotes you might hear.

If people are going to gamble online, they might as well do it on the BCLC site rather than some off-shore outfit. People have to take responsibility for their own actions and budget accordingly. I wouldn't want to see something banned because a small minority can't handle it. If we're going to do that, there's a long list of things we can ban.

The BCLCs brochure says not to gamble to make money. Sounds reasonable to me.

I read somewhere that gambling revenues were down 13% last year, so a 11% cut seems in line.

"Cheryl Ziola says the group has a 1999 signed agreement with the provincial government that guarantees more annual funding."

Really? The NDP did that? Dumb.

Gambling wasnt made illegal over the years for no reason. Now that it is run by the Government it is OK??? I dont think so.

It should still be illegal. Gambling has nothing to do with the freedom of choice. The fact of the matter is, is that the machines are set up to pay out a certain percentage at random over a period of time, and at the end of the day the Casino wins. It always wins. Thats why they can pay the City $3 Million a year and give money to various charities.

If the machines were left to chance, then the house would lose and go broke.

SO. How can you say that gambling should be allowed to individuals who have a freedom of choice, when the machines they gamble against have the odds stacked in their favour. Thats what makes it illegal. The inability of an individual to gamble on a level playing field.

The Casino in Prince George brought in $42 Million last year. Seems that someone is losing one hell of a lot of money. Thats about average for the past 5 years, so we are looking at loses of approx $200 Million over 5 years. Big money.

Legalized gambling is nothing more than a regressive tax. You might as well just write a cheque to the Provincial Goverment, because at the end of the day they are going to have your money.

Gambling has been around forever. Making it illegal would just undoubtedly give another revenue stream to the gangs. People would find ways to do it, whether it was legal or not. And if you think the government runs a crooked operation, what do you think the underground casinos and gambling houses will be like? Get real.

People should know that when they go to a casino, they will almost certainly lose money. Everybody knows that the house has the odds stacked in its favour. If they don't, they have a serious case of denial.