Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Convenience Store Owners Mastermind An Insider Lottery Win?

According to the following article, two Toronto convenience store owners are in custody accused of masterminding an insider lottery win to the tune of millions of dollars. The OPP will apparently be holding a press conference on Wednesday to reveal the details. It appears that as long as there is money involved, there will always be people who can figure out ways to grab some of it.
     . . . June


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Convenience store owners accused in lottery scam
Canada - Canoe.ca:

TORONTO - Two Toronto convenience store owners are in custody accused of masterminding an insider lottery win to the tune of millions of dollars, QMI Agency has learned.

The details of the alleged scam will be revealed Wednesday when the OPP holds a press conference in the city's west end.

A day before the announcement, the OPP would only say it was a 'high profile investigation involving the fraudulent claim of a major Ontario lottery prize.'

And the OLG was tight-lipped.

But a police source confirmed the allegations involve the operators of a convenience store.

"The people charged are the owners of a store and they have been charged with fraud in the millions," the source said, adding the pair have been arrested.

It's unclear when the insider win is alleged to have occurred, but the OPP says the latest charges are separate from an investigation they launched in 2007 after a report by then provincial ombudsman Andre Marin revealed widespread corruption within Ontario lottery system.

That OPP probe led to the arrest of store owner Hafiz Malik, who was sentenced to a year in jail this summer for stealing a $5.7 million winning ticket from a customer.

OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis and members of the Inspection and Investigation Branch as well as the Asset Forfeiture Unit will provide details of their latest investigation at a hotel near the airport.

Not surprisingly, OLG Chairman Paul Godfrey has scheduled a press conference to be held nearby immediately after the OPP conference.

Read entire article

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Serious Glitch Creates Problems For BC Casino Re-launch

There are lots of possible pitfalls for the governmet before Ontario starts their online betting sites. Some of the problems they might face are described in the articles below, including the money glitch in BC

June

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Stakes high for BC online casino re-launch; glitch let players use others cash
August 20, 2010 at 12:02 PM

Tamsyn Burgmann, The Canadian Press VANCOUVER - Gamblers in British Columbia are being invited to place their bets as the B.C. Lottery Corporation rolls the dice again on its new online casino. Launched with much fanfare over its claim to be the first website in North America to offer legal casino-style games, the PlayNow.com website was yanked on its first day live because players got a little too lucky: A technical glitch let them gamble with other people's money. "I don't think there's any question that we have to work hard to rebuild (customers') trust," BCLC president Michael Graydon said Thursday, on...

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Online gambling a risk for provinces: experts
August 20, 2010 at 5:40 PM

Online gambling experts are warning provinces to brace themselves for hackers, cheats and criminal gangs that target gaming sites. The warning comes after British Columbia launched its online gambling site, a venture that was marred by a series of glitches. The province, the first to launch an internet casino operation, abruptly shut down operations mid-July, just hours after the launch, due to "load issues." BC Lottery Corporation had more unanticipated technical glitches Thursday, but after hours of delays, they were up and running again early Friday morning. The site offers players blackjack, video poker and slots among other games. As a result, BCLC continues to investigate the cause of...

Friday, August 20, 2010

Are Ontario Run Gambling Sites Worth The Risk?

According To the article from Canada.com below, two Canadian online-gaming experts question whether provincially run sites will be able to compete against more than 2,000 offshore sites that, for the most part, have fewer regulations, lower fees and other incentives to keep customers loyal.

June



Provincially run gambling sites not worth the risks: Experts
August 19, 2010 at 3:17 PM
When officials in British Columbia and Ontario announced plans this summer to start new online-gambling ventures, they cited as a key benefit the retention of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise go to offshore sites. They also promised a more responsible and secure environment in which to play.

But two Canadian online-gaming experts question whether provincially run sites will be able to compete against more than 2,000 offshore sites that, for the most part, have fewer regulations, lower fees and other incentives to keep customers loyal.

The experts also worry about the social costs. They say the ability to play from home and around the clock will likely create a new crop of addicted gamblers. And, they warn, there's nothing to suggest that these domestic sites will be any less vulnerable to criminals who engage in cheating, hacking, money laundering and "cyber-extortion."

The debate re-ignited in July when B.C. announced that it would be the first jurisdiction in North America to offer legal, online casino games, including blackjack, poker and roulette. A month later, Ontario said it planned to launch an online gaming site by 2012.

Quebec has signalled it will offer online poker in the fall. The Atlantic provinces — which already offer limited online gaming — and Saskatchewan have hinted they might jump on the bandwagon, too.

Provincial officials say the potential financial windfall — B.C. says it loses $100 million each year to offshore gambling sites, while Ontario says it loses $400 million — will help support schools, hospitals and new infrastructure.

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Friday, August 13, 2010

Online Gaming - If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them!

After fighting illegal online gambling in Ontario for years, I guess the government decided that it was easier to run the business themselves and make and enforce the rules. Below is an article from the National Post on the subject.


... June

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Ontario’s OLG rolling out online gaming in 2012
Natalie Alcoba  August 10, 2010 – 9:04 pm

Eager for a “reliable source of revenue,” the Ontario government is introducing legalized Internet gaming.

Expected to launch in 2012, the provincially run gaming site could ultimately offer everything from lottery ticket sales to interactive, casino-style games and poker online.

“Globally, Internet gaming has become a prominent trend,” said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan on Tuesday.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation will undertake an 18-month consultation and implementation process.

“It is an inevitable step in the ongoing transformation of the OLG,” Paul Godfrey, chairman of the OLG, told a news conference at Queen’s Park. “We will move forward, and we will do it with great care.”

Mr. Duncan said Ontario gamblers already spend about $400-million per year on unregulated Internet gaming providers that make up a “grey market” and are mostly located offshore.

Currently, no private provider is authorized to operate in Ontario. “This means money is flowing out of Ontario,” Mr. Duncan said. He said the province asked OLG to develop a “socially responsible and secure” gaming site that includes safeguards and “encourages responsible gaming.”

Officials estimate that in the fifth year of operation, the site could start to bring in $100-million annually. “This is about competitiveness in the industry,” Mr. Duncan said. “The initial figures are relatively modest.… It’s more about competitiveness of OLG going forward and ensuring that it continues to be a reliable source of revenue for the province.”

OLG delivers about $1.7-billion a year to provincial coffers, a dividend that officials said has been eroding.

B.C. recently launched its own online gambling site, but it was shut down within a few days after the discovery of a security breach that allowed players to play with other users’ dollars.

“That’s why you don’t see us saying we’re going to come out and do it in three months,” Mr. Godfrey said.

During the consultation period, the OLG will review the security procedures of other jurisdictions in Europe and across Canada.

Critics from opposing parties dismissed the venture as a cash grab, and raised concerns about privacy.

“The reality is that people who will be engaged in Internet gambling are people who are already addicted to gambling, as well as young people. And we already have a problem there, why make it worse with Internet gambling?” said Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath. “This small group of people will have another opportunity to gamble away their hard-earned dollars.”

Read more:

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

OLG Will Have Online Gaming Program By Early 2012

The Pros and Cons of online gambling have been fought over for many years and will continue to draw fire - but the Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced that Ontario will have an online gaming program set up by 2012. The CBC News article below gives us more detail.

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Online gambling coming to Ontario
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 | 11:26 PM ET CBC News


British Columbia recently announced an expansion of its online gambling operations.British Columbia recently announced an expansion of its online gambling operations. (British Columbia Lottery Corporation)

The Ontario government is getting into the online gambling business.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) will have an online gaming program set up by early 2012, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

"I've asked the OLG to explore how it can best extend its brand online through a socially responsible and secure internet gaming program," Duncan said.

"Consultation and implementation will occur over the next 18 months."

Should provincial governments run online gambling sites? Take our poll.

The OLG promised a competitive process in which private operators can bid to operate the province's gaming sites.

OLG officials said they haven't decided yet what type of gambling they'll offer, but poker is high on the list. Other types of attractions could include online lottery ticket sales, and interactive casino-style games.

The Liberal government, which has a $19.7-billion deficit, estimates online gaming could net the province $100 million or more in profit annually within five years of being set up.

When asked if a $100-million annual return is enough to put a serious dent in the deficit, Duncan acknowledged "the initial figures are fairly modest."

"But in my way of thinking, it's more about the competitiveness of OLG going forward and ensuring that it continues to be a reliable source of revenue for the province," the minister said.



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June