Here Comes iGaming in Ontario

 I suppose you're all excited that this is the day when you can gamble from the comfort of your own home! At least this is the case here in Ontario. No, you'd rather head over to the casino? None of the above? Today the government of Ontario launches its new online gambling market, or iGaming as they call it,  including online casinos and esports betting sites. The revenue is expected to be well north of half a billion dollars.

This is making the bricks and mortar casinos nervous because it will likely syphon revenue away from their lucrative businesses, and municipalities are concerned as well because they derive revenue from hosting them. Belleville claims that the millions it receives each year is not included in the budget but I can't believe that they don't forecast projects based on revenue from the casino.

It was 40 years ago that the government created Trillium Foundation got underway in Ontario, using gambling revenue to fund various projects and provide grants. It seemed like such a positive initiative to many charitable organizations but the United Church strongly discouraged congregations from applying for grants because of the source. Our denomination has always been concerned about the impact of gambling (notice I don't use the term "gaming") both on individuals and society as a whole. In some respects it was a "resistance is futile" situation as this revenue source was normalized and both government and organizations became increasing dependent. Then the casinos proliferated with communities vying to be hosts, and now we have arrived at expanded online gambling. 

You can imagine that along the way supporters of an expanding gambling industry have scoffed at what they view as the moralizing of religious groups which have opposed it. We religious types just don't want people to have fun, they figure. 

Some of you may recall when I created a kerfuffle here in Belleville by asking city council what percentage of the income from the new casino would be committed to addressing the social ills including problem gambling. At first council told me I couldn't make a presentation but by coincidence or providence a local newspaper sought me ought for a response to the opening of the casino. Suddenly I received a lot of media attention and I was invited to make a presentation which I did on behalf of our Presbytery and Conference. One councillor was particularly snarky but it was worthwhile to raise the issues. 

We'll see how this all unfolds, but I'm not impressed by this choice by the Ontario government. Of course I rarely am by any of their decisions.