Confusing gambling decision was a blow to Niagara

When it had to decide whether to allow single-game sports betting in casinos and lotteries across Canada, the federal government was faced with two very different arguments, both of them compelling.

A change — if it happened — would allow gamblers to go into a casino, or possibly a variety store where lottery tickets are sold, and bet on tonight’s Jays game or the Super Bowl or Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

Currently, if you want to bet on sports you have to pick from at least three games, like on a ProLine ticket.

On the one hand, casino operators as well as politicians in areas that host gaming venues pointed to the financial benefits.

“We’re talking billions of dollars and hundreds of jobs,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati.

St. Catharines Liberal MP Chris Bittle echoed that, pointing to “100, 150 new jobs at the casino, plus a lot of tourist spinoffs as well.”

They argued that as it stands now, anyone wanting to bet on the Super Bowl, for instance, has to go to a bookie. Why leave all that revenue in the hands of organized crime when you can legitimize it and create jobs and government revenue?

On the other hand there was the social risk, as presented by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

It argued, as it did in a 2012 letter to a Senate committee, that “people now patronizing illegal bookmakers would likely continue to do so because of easy access to credit, convenience and better odds.

“(If Bill C-221 was passed it) is likely to enlarge the pool of people who bet on sports and therefore the number of people affected by problem gambling — not reduce illegal sports better.”

Already, the letter noted, three per cent of Canadians experience moderate to severe gaming problems. And 30 to 40 per cent of gaming revenues come from that small fraction of the population.

There is no denying the impact a gambling problem can have on a person and their family. But the CAMH’s arguments — undeniable as they are — sound similar to ones made back in the 1990s when Ontario was debating whether to get into the casino business.

The decision was made then to go all in on gaming.

And with four casinos within a short drive (two in Niagara, two in New York state) and a fifth not far away in Brantford — not to mention all the provincial and New York state lotteries and online gaming — we are all the way in.

So the decision to say no now is a little baffling, considering the likely benefits of job creation and tax revenue. It’s frustrating, too, in a region that could use 100 or 150 new jobs.

So the federal government’s decision is Niagara’s loss. It’s hard to believe, though, that at some point the single-game betting issue will re-emerge. Because when you’re this far in, there’s really no turning back. Postmedia Network