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Canadian
Senate
Keeps
Online
Gambling
Legal
December
27,
2007
It
was
a
close
call
for
Canadians,
but
Liberal
Senator
George
Baker
saved
the
day
and
online
gambling
from
a
bill
that
would
have
put
an
end
to
it.
A so
called
“housekeeping”
bill
was
almost
passed
that
would
have
made
online
gambling
illegal
in
Canada,
and
many
are
breathing
a
sigh
of
relief
today
that
Baker
was
on
his
toes.
The
bill
had
made
some
very
minor
changes
in
its
wording,
modernizing
bookmaking
laws
to
change
Criminal
Code
references
to
“telephone
and
telegraph”
by
removing
them.
Baker
said
that
had
the
bill
been
passed
it
would
have
then
made
internet
servers
and
home
gambling
illegal
as
well.
He
says
that
as
there
is
such
a
large
market
for
online
gambling
in
the
country,
it
would
not
have
been
a
smart
move
to
delete
the
text
and
thereby
making
it
illegal
to
participate
in
such.
He
said
that
online
gambling
and
online
poker
are
huge
industries
in
their
country,
and
the
bill
would
have
made
both
illegal.
He
says
that
many
had
looked
at
the
bill,
but
he
was
the
only
one
that
saw
the
potential
ramifications
for
the
wording
change.
Justice
Minister
Rob
Nicholson
and
department
lawyers
looked
at
the
bill
and
said
that
the
wording
change
would
not
actually
have
an
effect
on
online
gambling,
but
people
weren’t
buying
it.
In
fact,
some
of
the
larger
online
gambling
companies
implored
the
Senate
to
amend
the
legislation
because
of
the
potential
for
misuse
later
on.
They
stated
that
although
the
purpose
of
the
law
might
not
be
to
make
online
gambling
illegal,
the
letter
of
the
law
would
make
it
so.
Because
of
provincial
licensing
jurisdiction
over
casinos
domestic
gaming
sites
are
not
legal
in
Canada,
but
offshore
and
online
gambling
is
legal.
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