Chief executive David Willmot of Canadian gaming firm Woodbine Entertainment has urged the Ontario government to avoid following in the United States’ footsteps in its attitude toward the online gaming industry. In a recent report published by the Globe and Mail in Toronto, Willmot stated that the moralist stance adopted by the U.S. government is the wrong course of action in addressing the multi-billion dollar industry. “The gaming genie is out of the bottle. Only the United States is trying to make it a moral issue,” he said.

Willmot and other gaming operators are hoping the Ontario government refrains from imposing the ban, instead opening the door for Canadian firms to compete with the off-shore based firms. However, the chief executive said that more importantly, the status quo must be changed. “Either throw the online gambling field wide open for the domestic gambling industry to participate or enact legislation that will run the foreign-based World Wide Web gambling operations right off the track,” Willmot said. “We’d be happy with either scenario. The scenario I’m not happy with is the status quo. We have laws that make online gambling illegal that are not being enforced because the government can’t touch those operators.”

Willmot pointed out that the current situation unfairly penalizes domestic gambling firms. “If we tried to open up a sportsbook, or online casino or poker room, the police would be on our doorstep the next day,” he said. “They know where we are. Do we support the legislation? Absolutely, because online gambling is illegal. We have laws, but they are not being enforced. So, either you change them or you allow us to compete.”

Under the proposed legislation, media agencies that sell advertising space to online gambling firms, along with four Canadian Football League teams that allow gambling sites to participate in on-field campaigns, would be hit heavily. However, the Ontario government would be powerless to prosecute off-shore online gambling firms that advertised on Canadian websites, supporting Willmot’s claim that the legislation discriminates against the domestic gambling industry.

Back to October 2006 Online Gambling News
Back to latest Online Gambling News
Back to Online Gambling Archive