Major Wager CEO Fights Back!

Published: Sunday, October 22, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

MAJOR WAGER CEO FIGHTS BACK

Airing the real facts on proposed Ontario ban on Internet gambling adverts

The webmaster and CEO of the popular sportsbetting information site Major Wager.com, Russ Hawkins, is a Canadian determined to do something about the political spin being generated by Ontario politicians to justify a provincial ban on online gambling advertisements (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa reports)

Hawkins is mounting his own media counter-campaign drawing the attention of Canadian editors to the real facts regarding provincial gambling, and the reasons behind the proposed add-on legislation in the Consumer Protection Act.

Hawkins points out that like the most recent politically motivated bill in the US Congress that was recently signed into law, there are some notable exceptions (i.e. lotteries and land-based casinos).

In a letter to editors, Hawkins points to the way in which the proposed law will adversely affect local football and hockey organisations, depriving them of revenues and questions whether this is likely to stop online gamblers from pursuing their entertainment of choice.

"Not likely," he answers the rhetorical question. "The only people this bill will truly affect are the Ontario businessmen (and by extension, the people that work for those businessmen) that rely on this advertising revenue stream."

Hawkins reminds editors that the original politician who drew up the Bill earlier this year was clear on his website that it was protectionism and nothing more, emphasising that he was concerned about the impact of online gambling on the lotteries and Kawartha Downs racetrack.

However, the politician pushing the legislation now, Gerry Phillips, has been spinning the need for the law as the perils of gambling and particularly the number of young people who bet online. Hawkins says that there are far more young people indulging in province-sponsored gambling like lotteries than at online gambling sites, and challenges Phillips' claim that there is little to stop underage youngsters from betting at an online site.

He also challenges a claim made by the politician that low income people are at risk on online sites, arguing that a number of studies have shown that the online gambler is typically in a higher education and income bracket, whereas state-sponsored lotteries are far more likely to attract low-income bettors.

"The government has argued that betting among young people online has increased 4 fold in the last 5 years," writes Hawkins. "The fact that internet usage has increased by more than that for the overall population wouldn't contribute to that, now would it?" He adds that a study of Ontario provincial adverts for province-sponsored gambling illustrates very clearly that young people are being targeted, whereas the contrary applies to online gambling marketing.

He gives examples of province-sponsored lottery adverts that show very young adults walking into their fathers' offices to give them early retirement since they won 6-49. "Another lottery ad shows a very immature, new employee hiring illusionists since he won $1,000 a week on Payday. So whose advertising is really influencing young people to gamble - the online gambling ads, or the state sponsored gambling ads?"

Hawkins concludes his letter to editors with the hope that the Canadian federal government will realize, like Great Britain, Australia and other commonwealths, that regulating gambling is a better alternative than prohibition.

"The United States has opted to pass legislation in a futile attempt to dictate to Americans what they should do with their money. Our Stephen Harper has claimed that he is not a U.S. puppet; a great way for him to prove that would be to shun the U.S.'s call to ban online gambling (while it rakes in tax revenues from lotteries, racetracks and Video Lottery Terminals) and instead endorse a regulated system that works well in both Europe and Australia," he says.