Canadian Legislators Scramble- Part 1
Just like the rest of the world Canada is weighing out its gambling options. The country is hoping to legalize and regulate gambling successfully but it already is having problems. Studies are showing that a record number of residents are moving forward with gambling. The market is growing exponentially and that means that it needs to be ready for the huge surge in customers. Over the past few months the recession has made it difficult for gamers. A lack of discretionary funds has made gambling a low priority on the list of activities. People had to cut back on spending, vacations, luxuries and of course gambling. It made things difficult for operators and many had to tap into their cash reserves to survive. Canada is the same—operators have been struggling and now legislators are pushing for rewriting of codes.
One of the main problems is that the current rules being followed are not sufficient to protect players, according to lawmakers. They believe that an immediate rewording of laws needs to happen before more people are hurt financially and emotionally. In question are the “self-exclusion laws.” In these laws, casinos are to maintain a list of gamblers who believe that they either have addictions or could have addictions. Their names are then checked on a list and they aren’t allowed entry to the casino. This opting out of casino gambling is a good move—if it worked. Unfortunately throughout the past it has failed. More than a few players who were on the self-exclusion list were allowed entry to casinos in the various provinces of the area. They played games and one even won. Gaming critics say that casino operators will maintain the self-exclusion list, but few are eager to follow it. It is a great way for a casino to continue taking a player’s money and then have an immediate out if he or she wins. They can fall back on the law that says they should not have been at a casino table to begin with and therefore are not eligible for the win. Of course they would be informed of this after spending hundreds, maybe thousands, at the casino’s various games. It’s a win-win situation for gambling operators to be lax in enforcing the self-exclusion rules at the door. Once rules are made safe for gambling addicts, then online casinos will be the next target.
Part two coming next.
Tags: addict, Canada, law, laws, legalize, legislators, online, rules, self-exclusion
