Online Gambling in Canada Ontario Moves Closer to Law

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has been talking about introducing online gambling to the most populous province in Canada for quite some time now. This week the company is expected to publish its Request for Proposals putting all online gambling technology and software companies on high alert.

The Corporation will operate all upcoming online gambling programs in the province including online sportsbooks and online casinos in Canada. With the publication of the Request for Proposals the process of selecting software providers may finally begin.

Ontario plans to catch up to fellow provinces of Quebec and British Columbia, where online gambling is already legal and enjoys great popularity. Back in 2010 the Corporation officially announced its plans to offer online gambling option, after finding out that Ontarians were estimated to spend around Cdn$400 million on gambling at foreign based sites.

Commenting the result of the study, which made it possible to estimate the number of residents gambling online, the Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan, said: “People want this. People enjoy gaming.”

Ever since the Canadian gambling laws have been altered to allow online gambling in the province, OLG has been researching the most popular gambling practices around the word, intending to launch its own online casino in early 2012.

Canada gambling news learned that OLG is expected to introduce both online casino games and online lottery tickets. The online casino will be off-limits to anyone younger than 19 and lottery will be available to 18-year-olds and older.

The operation will be governed by a set of strict regulations, which will include measures to prevent underage access as well as combating problem gambling. Time and financial limits are also expected to be introduced.