Canadian Academics Shout Their Opinions

Internet gambling has long been a highly discussed subject. A Canadian newspaper, The Edmonton Sun, reported that people in the academic community fear the problems that could be attached to online casinos. One gentleman in particular, Robert Williams of Lethbridge University has been particularly vocal on his opinions of anything that has to do with an online casino.

Williams put forth an extensive study on the subject and presented the data and his conclusions to the newspaper. His fears are primarily due to the accessibility of an online casino. Canada has an ever growing interest in the subject and he says that online gambling is more alluring because of the high pay outs and free play websites. His study claims that underage players will play at the free online casinos until they turn 18 and can actually play with real money, which could result in addiction.

One interesting fact presented in his study was that the average loss for a Canadian online casino gambler is $541 per month, as opposed to the $84 loss of the non internet gambler. Canadian online casinos are currently regulated under a strict licensing jurisdiction. The Kahnawake First Nation is one of the main licensing facilities located in Montreal, they reportedly have 300-400 internet gambling sites in operation. Williams is against further legalization of internet poker/gambling.

William pointed out more dangers of internet gambling while the newspaper that reported the article had a more liberal outlook on the subject. When it comes to online casinos and internet gambling some think that legalization and regulation is the answer that way the economy can reap the benefits. Some still think that legalizing it will not help, it will just perpetuate addiction and worry free gambling.