Woodbine Wants a Monopoly
A Canadian horserace betting company has argued loudly that the Canadian online
casinos gambling industry is taking business from the land gambling industry –
specifically the horserace tracks. Woodbine is one of the most prominent
companies in the horseracing industry, and recent complaints to the Canadian
government and pressure to ban online casinos gambling are largely motivated by
protectionist attitudes from land gambling facilities and companies. An online
casinos gaming expert was recently interviewed by Casino City – Michael Lipton
specializes in gaming law and he recently analyzed the current internet gambling
climate in Canada.
Lipton pointed out that the current concerns for the future of the Canadian
online casinos gambling industry stem from complaints from Woodbine. Lipton
noted that "this is all about Woodbine trying to protect their monopoly,” but
that argument is likely to be enough of a reason to actually ban internet
gambling in all of Canada. Lipton remarks that “"Practically speaking, I don't
think the government is looking to move on this because it could lead to
violence." And beyond the violence, the Canadian government does not have a
history of favoring prohibitive legislation – rather the government favors
regulation.
As for Woodbine, the company’s argument for banning online casinos just doenst
hold up. "Woodbine's argument is that these sites are hurting their business,”
remarks Lipton. “But I don't follow that logic. Are they trying to say that if
Internet gambling is shut down, all of a sudden people are going to flood the
race track to bet the horses? That just doesn't make sense." Regulation of the
online casinos industry would better serve the country and would actually bring
Canada in line with the dozens of other nations in the world that have regulated
this popular pastime. |