Ontario Online Gaming

Following in the footsteps of British Columbia, the Ontario government is also entering the online casinos business.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation plans to roll out the new online portal in early 2012, according to Dwight Duncan, Ontario’s finance minister.

Specifically, the government is hoping its ownership of the gaming site will bring big rewards to the province. It’s estimated that online gaming could bring in more than $100 million a year within five years of the site getting online.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, or OLG, said they’ll let private companies bid to operate the gaming sites. It’s not known yet exactly what kind of gaming the government will offer, but online poker is likely a definite, according to Duncan. Other options might include online lottery tickets and online casino games.

According to the OLG, residents in Ontario spend about $400 million a year in online gaming, which is unregulated and which also doesn’t benefit the government financially. The online gaming is currently not taxed or assessed fees.

The OLG says it will likely not encounter any security glitches, and particularly not of the kind that shut down British Columbia’s online gaming site within hours of its opening. The OLG, by contrast, is promising a dedicated effort toward player security and days that specific secure transaction and other measure swill prevent a repeat of the BC incident.