Canada: Allowing online casino with large bets ‘simply wrong,’ says P.E.I. Liberal legislator

Canada: Allowing online casino with large bets ‘simply wrong,’ says P.E.I. Liberal legislator

Article brief provided by CBC News
  • Sara Fraser, CBC News
January 15, 2021 7:00 AM
  • Sara Fraser, CBC News

Prince Edward Island’s standing committee on health and social development will investigate the mental health implications from a new online casino coming from Atlantic Lotto.

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The news came Tuesday from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which says it is preparing to expand a new online casino to allow play by residents of P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, after quietly launching a site New Brunswickers could access in August 2020.

The P.E.I. cabinet approved participation in the online casino on Dec. 22. In a statement, the provincial Department of Finance said its goal was to ensure residents “play in a safe and regulated environment.”

“The timing is so wrong” for an online casino that allows large bets, said Liberal MLA Heath MacDonald, who asked the standing committee to make this a priority.