Atlantic Lottery Corp. has announced that it plans to expand a new online casino for residents in the Canada’s Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia provinces.
Atlantic Lottery last August launched an online casino available to residents of New Brunswick.
Players can wager as much as $500 on blackjack or $100 one a virtual slot machine. That is many times more than the highest amount they can bet on an actual slot.
PEI’s standing committee on health and social development plans to look at the mental health implications of this new development. The P.E.I. cabinet approved participation last month, and the Department of Finance said it wanted to ensure “a safe and regulated environment.”
Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Heath MacDonald opposes the online casino and has asked the standing committee to prioritize looking at health implications of online gaming. The committee has now invited witnesses to appear as it holds hearings.
He said in an interview, “We’ve just lived through nine months of a lot of anxiety, a lot of mental illness, and the numbers are increasing daily.” He added, “And I think addictions was a topic of many discussions for many people—all Islanders, many people, many families. One of the addictions we sometimes tend to forget is gambling addiction.”
He added, “I think we really have to take a serious look at what it can do to individuals and their families. It’s not very pretty and it’s not pleasant.”
Atlantic Lottery’s plans are also encountering pushback in Nova Scotia. Although Nova Scotia Finance Minister Karen Casey hasn’t yet commented on the proposal. A spokesman for her department says it is evaluating Atlantic Lotto’s proposal. Its spokeswoman added, “Nova Scotia Gaming Corp.’s priority is to run a safe and responsible industry that operates in the best interest of all Nova Scotians. That includes considering existing and emerging research related to online gambling.”
A registered counselor who specializes in gaming addiction is urging the government to oppose the proposal. The therapist, Elizabeth Stephen, calls slot machines the most addicting gambling products, and says online slots are even easier to access.
Stephen commented, “Why would you put the highest risk gambling product online for people in the middle of a pandemic?” She added “We know that drinking is going up. We know that all kinds of online activity is going up because people have nothing else to do. They’re stressed, they need money. You would hope at the very least that a government would be doing what it can to protect people and do no harm.”
Atlantic Lotto, which believes the online casinos could bring in $122 million over seven years, argues that an online casino will discourage illegal offshore gaming and keep money in the region.
Atlantic Lotto spokesman Greg Weston, told the Chronicle Herald that it provides a safe, regulated alternative to the more than 3,000 illegal websites available to the Atlantic provinces.
Stephen disputes that logic. “They are going to introduce online gambling slots and VLTs to a whole new number of people that would never go into a bar or a casino to play,” she said.
