Internet-gambling interests bet on lobbyists with PC ties for a quick win in Ontario GlobePolitics
It was a policy change most didn’t see coming. In their first budget, Doug Ford’s Ontario Progressive Conservatives signalled they intend to become the first provincial government to “legalize” internet gambling.
Until this year, provincial governments had remained wary. It wasn’t really at the top of the gambling industry’s agenda, either: That was pushing to legalize sports betting. It was a surprise when Finance Minister Vic Fedeli pledged in his April 11 budget to create a “competitive market for online [gambling].”
Patrick Harris, a lobbyist with Mr. Teneycke’s firm, Rubicon Strategy Inc., was registered to represent something called the Canadian Online Gaming Alliance . The alliance is a makeshift trade association that served as a lobbying umbrella for three offshore internet-gambling giants that operate from the Isle of Man and Britain: Bet365, which handled £52.
The legalities are complicated. In Canada, gambling is criminal, except when provincial governments “conduct and manage” the activity. Canadian law doesn’t prohibit provinces from licensing private online-gambling companies, said Danielle Bush, a partner with Miller Thomson in Toronto and the corporate secretary of the Canadian Gaming Association. But it is not 100-per-cent clear: Federal law does not explicitly say provinces can do it, either.
Mr. Harris, a former PC staffer when John Tory was leader, had also worked at TRM; when Mr. Harris left to join Rubicon last year, Mr. Ross put him on a retainer.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion: For trans people in Ontario, the sex-ed debate feels like it’s about something elseThrough the prism of the PC government’s actions, a human-rights tribunal decision over what Ontario students are taught about sexual health looks like more of the same
Read more »
Ontario PCs criticized for appointing all-male panel to review OPP cultureSolicitor-General Sylvia Jones defends selection, says experience was deciding factor
Read more »
Bob Baffert takes aim at record-tying 6th Kentucky Derby winBaffert saddles Game Winner, Improbable and Roadster in the 145th Derby. None is the early favourite
Read more »
Porcello pitches 8 shutout innings; Red Sox beat A's - TSN.caRick Porcello pitched eight shutout innings and struck out a season-high eight as the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Read more »
Bogaerts' double highlights 6-run rally, Red Sox beat A's - TSN.caXander Bogaerts hit a tying two-run double that sailed over the head of centre fielder Ramón Laureano, who made a bad read during a six-run third inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 9-4 on Monday night.
Read more »
National chief alarmed Saskatchewan minister referred to Indigenous groups as lobbyistsAFN Chief Perry Bellegarde says First Nations have a right to be at the table
Read more »
Guaido’s high-risk gamble on Operation Liberty flails as Maduro keeps grip on militaryNational Security Advisor John Bolton called out Venezuela’s defense minister and chief justice on Twitter, saying this was their last chance to accept Guaido
Read more »
General Haftar’s greatest gamble in Libya is going against himOpponents say that instead of uniting Libya, he is splintering it even further by ignoring the UN peace process, which, in spite of several false starts, held out the best prospects for bringing the country together without bloodshed
Read more »
BC Wildfire Service quick to douse brush fire after controlled burn flares north of VancouverBlaze charred roughly 2.5 hectares of bush before it was quelled by two helicopters and three-person ground crew
Read more »
Smoak drives in winning run for extra-innings win over AthleticsJustin Smoak drove in the winning run in the 11th inning as the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon.
Read more »