Online Gambling Introduction in Canadian Province Ontario Delayed

According to the latest Canada gambling news Ontario, the most populous Canadian province, has still a long way to go before legalizing online gambling.

Online casinos in Canada are already accessible in two other provinces: British Columbia and Quebec, and Ontario is looking to catch up with them.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), operating in full compliance with Canadian gambling laws, has a complicated task of organizing online gambling in the province. The Corporation has just extended its deadline for online gambling presentations, which originally were supposed to be submitted by February 3.

The reason for the extension is quite simple: only three proposals were submitted so far. These came from the following operators: Openbet, Amaya Gaming and GTechG2. Obviously more proposals are needed in order to create a fair online gambling market. All three companies are already well-represented on the Ontario market and are looking to capitalize on their land-based gambling experience.

Rumors suggest that as many as nine other operators are looking to submit their proposals to OLG, but failed to prepare their presentations by the original deadline. The Corporation is set on ensuring the province receives as many proposals as possible and sees the extension of the deadline as the only option to do that.

It is not yet clear how long the extension will stretch, however it’s certain that the introduction of online gambling in Ontario is once again delayed. Provincial officials promise to launch online gambling offering by the end of 2012. After all proposals are submitted it will surely take some time to evaluate each and create a short list of applicants for a more thorough and close evaluation before the final choice of operators is made.