The Dalton McGuinty Liberal government should not be rolling the dice on online gambling, according to Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
Given the go-ahead by Ontario’s Minister of Finance, Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), a crown corporation, is planning to introduce online gaming to the province.
“This latest expansion of gambling in Ontario is not in the public interest,” said Arnott.
“For many years, I’ve maintained that too many people are addicted to gambling. They’re losing their shirts, and we’re not doing enough to help them,” he added.
Arnott has been a long-time opponent of the expansion of gambling in Ontario.
“Some are claiming new gambling will increase government revenues,” Arnott recognized. “But that won’t address the Liberals’ real problem: their addiction to runaway spending.”
Critics also contend that McGuinty government cannot be trusted to competently operate new gambling facilities.
“Who is going to trust Dalton McGuinty to run an online casino?” said Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, who noted recent scandals at OLG and the fact that the organization has gone through five chief executive officers.
“They can’t run the existing casinos let alone internet gambling,” he added.
