Alberta not yet ready to roll dice on online gambling

Alberta isn’t ready yet for online gambling, despite the province’s revenue crunch. That’s according to Finance Minister Joe Ceci.

In an interview with CBC News, the finance minister said he knows people are already gambling online. However, Ceci believes the online gambling’s public risks still outweigh the financial benefits it will give the province.

“I think we need to see the positives and negatives of what that might mean for Albertans before I deal with that policy issue. So, still under review,” Ceci said, according to the new outlet.

Early this year, the Alberta Gaming ad Liquor Commission opened a tender for online gaming companies that want to set up shop in the province. Alberta is one of the last two Canadian provinces not yet offering online gambling services through its provincial gambling monopoly, the other being Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan, where, incidentally, a certain Calvin Ayre was born, has flirted with the idea back in 2014, courtesy of the Geobet-powered NorthernBearCasino.com.