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| | | March 6 - Horse racing track owners in the Canadian state of Ottawa are
demanding that the state makes online gambling regarding horse racing illegal or
alternatively change government legislation, as they are losing
hundreds of millions of dollars to other online gambling sites.
Currently in Canada there are laws in place that prohibit all forms of online
gambling except for provincial lotteries that permit online lotto ticket sales,
sports betting vendors that have telephone accounts, and private online bets
between individuals made at horse-racing tracks.
However, horse track owners are saying that these laws are not being enforced.
That hundreds of online sports betting sites are enjoying the benefits of
accepting bets on races taking place at their tracks, which is costing them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues each year.
Many are also quick to point out that while they pay taxes and contribute to
local employment, by law they are only allowed to accept online bets from their
local areas. Whereas, offshore based online gambling operators can accept bets
from anywhere in the world without contributing to the industry.
Said Jane Holmes, vice-president of corporate affairs for Woodbine Entertainment
Group, a major horse race track owner in Canada, 'Online gambling
websites take a lower commission on horse racing bets because they don't have
overheads to pay such as infrastructure costs and pay purses.
'Plus, they are creating no jobs or contributing in any way to the area. However, if we tried to do what they're doing,
we would lose our licenses. It provides them with an unfair competitive
advantage and one which we feel should be addressed,' she said.
Canadian Liberal MP Roy Cullen, whose Etobicoke North riding includes Toronto's
Woodbine Racetrack, has confirmed that he plans to introduce a private members'
bill that would require Canadian financial institutions and credit card companies to
block online betting transactions.
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