Oscar Wilde must’ve had the province of Ontario in mind when he quipped about vice being its own reward. The province’s Liberal government, led by Dalton McGuinty, is considering tossing a life-raft to the beleaguered gaming industry by introducing Las Vegas-style sports-book wagering into the Ontario’s casinos.
Apart from giving casinos in Niagara Falls and Windsor a competitive edge over their cross-border counterparts, the move will rival the neatest of tricks you’re apt to see from any magician on the strip; Presto! Vice turns into virtue. The issue isn’t about the perceived sins of gambling as much as it’s about a government that turns to “vice” as a solution to an economic downturn, in this case, dwindling gaming revenues.
When a government becomes inordinately dependent on lotteries, casinos and sin taxes as a source for revenue, you might have to question their overall game plan. Or could we also expect ...