Illegal Online Gambling Comes to a Head

March 14, 2008

The horse racing industry is upset that illegal online gambling has been going on in Canada and they want Ottawa to do something about it. They say that illegal online gambling needs to be stopped, or they have to change the way that legislation is currently written so that they have better access to the industry.

The current law says that all online gambling is illegal except for lotteries that allow online ticket sales, gamblers with telephone accounts at horse racing tracks and private bets between individuals. However, the horse track industry says that the laws are not being enforced or adhered to and that there are hundreds of online gambling sites being allowed to operate within Canada’s borders.

They want the banks to block all online gambling transactions, and they want something done about the Kahnawake reservation – which is responsible for the majority of those online gambling sites. They say that they are supportive of local employment and they pay their taxes but it is all in vain. Those that have online gambling going on are not supporting the country or the industry that they are betting on.

They say that they lose millions of dollars a year per track to the illegal online gambling operators. Estimates put it at a billion dollar industry, yet law enforcement officials say that it is not high on their list of priorities. This is frustrating for the tracks as they know that those billions of dollars of online gambling are going in someone else’s pocket.

The horse racing industry would like to see a similar law like that of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act that the US passed. It still allows for online gambling as it pertains to horses, but all other online gambling payment processing would be made illegal.


Back to March 2008 Archive.