Ontario’s new-government run online gaming site launched Thursday will be both a success and a failure, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health spokesperson says.

Robert Murray, manager of education and community resources at the Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario, CAMH, said PlayOLG.ca will draw in new gamblers who don’t trust the so-called grey sites.

“This is another opportunity to expand their (government) revenue from gambling . . . certainly for a segment of the population the convenience of gambling remotely is going to be attractive especially since it is government sponsored,” Murray told the Star.

“However, that means there are going to be more people who are going to want to try this . . . and inevitably you are going to see a proportion of those people get into trouble with it,” he said, noting that suicide is an “unfortunate” aspect of problem gambling.

By launching its Internet gaming site, the OLG is hoping to tap into the estimated $400 million to $500 million that some 500,000 Ontario gamblers are spending annually on sites elsewhere.

The province is counting on $375 million in additional profits over five years.

Ontario joins British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and all of the Atlantic Provinces in offering online gaming, featuring interactive casino-style games including slots, and table games such as blackjack, baccarat, single-player poker and roulette, as well as the sale of lottery tickets.

On this site players set their own limits of up to $9,999 per week , which the OLG says is comparable with other sites. Players must be at least 18 years of age, must be an Ontario resident and must play within the province.

OLG spokesperson Ryan Bissonnette said there are built-in safety nets such as self-imposed money and time limits

“I’d say the key element here, it’s responsible, it’s safe, people are protected, they have their privacy and it’s regulated by the government of Ontario. And most of all we have those responsible gambling features embedded in the site,” he said.

NDP finance critic MPP Katherine Fife said it’s the Ontario government that’s addicted to gambling.

“Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal government’s casino-style gaming strategy isn’t progressive and will put vulnerable people at risk,” she said in an email statement.

“New Democrats are very concerned that the OLG’s new gambling site will encourage youth gambling, prey on the vulnerable and encourage gambling addiction,” she stated.

Murray emphasized the so-called safeguards are at the discretion of the gambler. “And we are concerned about the segment of the population that is going to get into trouble and likely they are not going to be using those features much,” he said.

Bissonnette said in a five-week trial, the OLG found that players on average were spending $95 a week, but Murray says, “We’re concerned about the small percentage of people who will be betting much more.”

Murray said the convenience will make gambling just a mouse click. “We all have to recognize there is a public health consequence to this” and stressed that people who are “shut-ins” may be “particularly at risk because they are isolated.”

$9,999 - Weekly deposit limit in your www.PlayOLG.ca account

$12.5 billion - Ontario’s deficit

$500 million a year - Amount Ontarians are spending every year on private online gambling sites

$375 million - Amount OLG hopes to make through online gambling over next five years.

$100 million a year - Amount OLG hopes to make on its site annually thereafter

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Correction - January 12, 2015: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Catherine Fife's given name.



With files from Rob Ferguson

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