The prospect of Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) offering online gambling services isn’t expected to impact local businesses like The Players Lounge.
Sal Naim, owner, said people are already gambling online, and isn’t predicting anything will change once the AGLC starts regulating it.
“The internet is certainly changing a lot of things and business in many ways. As more and more of it falls under a regulating body, I don’t know if that’s necessarily such a bad thing,” Naim said.
Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr agreed.
“The fact is, Albertans are doing online gambling, it’s just that it’s not being regulated by the Alberta government,” he explained. “That’s definitely problematic for people who are being scammed, because there are no rules to follow.”
Those that are gambling online currently, are truly putting their money at risk. Cyr believes the AGLC regulating these sites could change how people view it.
“People will have more confidence on online gambling if it at least has been checked over by the AGLC. If something does happen, they have someone they can complain to, not just some foreign government,” he added.
Chara Goodings, senior communications officer for the AGLC, said in an email, “AGLC is looking for an online gambling service provider who will stand-up and manage a safe, secure, and socially responsible regulated gambling website for Albertans. Online gambling isn’t new and many Albertans already play on offshore sites; these sites are unregulated and implement little to no responsible gambling features, leaving the player with no protection or means of responsible play, education, or social responsibility tools.”
According to Goodings, a provincially-managed site will “provide a secure, age-controlled environment that will promote responsible gambling behaviours, educate consumers, and help players manage their own play through social responsibility tools such as GameSense.”
Alberta is currently one of two provinces that doesn’t have it’s own regulated gambling website.
While Cyr is optimistic with the idea of online gambling being provincially regulated, he feels there are some steps the AGLC is going to have to take to ensure it’s done right the first time.
“I’m always hesitant to add new ways of gambling, and I would hope the government and AGLC work with making sure we get those with addictions the ability to be able to find help if they need it,” he stressed. “If we do this correctly, Albertans will still be able to get the online gambling they would like to, and know that it’s being regulated by the government.”
Cyr explained how when it comes to casinos, people can be banned if needed, but “how do you do that online?”
“We just need to make sure that, if we’re going down this road, that it’s not the Alberta government that’s actually hurting people, and it’s making sure if they do need help, people are getting it as soon as possible,” Cyr added.
“We’re looking for proponents to provide recommendations of what type of offerings to bring to market, inclusive of tools, which will allow Albertans to manage their participation in a socially responsible manner. Our online gambling platform will have tools and messages that promote responsible gambling as well as information regarding addiction programs, like time limits and bet limits, and contact information for Alberta Health Services,” Goodings said. “We want to offer the same social responsibility tools such as GameSense to people online as a casino.”
The AGLC has already sent out a request for proposals to find a contractor to run the site, however it could be the summer of 2020 before it launches.