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NS Government Displaying Blatant Hypocrisy Re: Gambling Funding |
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Written by D.L. McCracken
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Wednesday, 12 April 2006 |
Tuesday's announcement by the Nova Scotia government that the taxpayers of this province will be funding a company that in part, advises gamblers and gamers on more efficient ways in which to part with their money, anti-gambling campaigners are shaking their heads in what can only be described as consternation accompanied by a hefty dose of disappointment.
SportsDirect Inc. (SDI) is being promoted by the provincial government as an IT (information technology) business but at the same time the news release plays down the exact nature of the business. SportsDirect is a privately held company located in Halifax with a branch in Las Vegas and Galway, Ireland. Along with providing stats and sports gaming news, SDI also offers professional assistance to betters and gamers on how to wager with efficiency.
The news that a business will set up in the province and over a period of five years provide employment to 165 individuals is always welcome news in Nova Scotia. As businesses expand and provide employment the region also expands and flourishes. Regardless of what the business is selling, they will always be welcomed and encouraged in this province and that includes SportsDirect Inc.
Of course having said all that, the news yesterday that the provincial government would be providing taxpayer dollars to fund a payroll rebate program to the tune of $1.6 million sort of puts a damper on the original excitement of the announcement when one considers that the province has previously recognized the increasing incidents of gambling addiction in Nova Scotia. Not only have they recognized a problem they have also committed hundreds of thousands of taxpayer's dollars for education and treatment of gambling addictions.
And government involvement hasn't stopped there. Way back in 1993 the province acceded to public pressure and removed all existing VLTs from every corner store and restricted their access to liquor licensed establishments only. Over the next five years and despite the removal of VLTs from corner stores, bowling alleys, etc. revenues from gambling grew steadily. As did gambling addiciton. People were losing their homes, marriages were breaking up, individuals were declaring bankruptcy and way too many were committing suicide as a direct result of addiction to VLTs.
At the urging of various anti-gambling groups in the province the government finally introduced the Video Lottery Terminal Moratorium Act in 1998 which would place a limit of no more than 3,234 operable VLT machines in the province. Two years later the province went even further by introducing four features on VLTs that were expected to render the machines less enticing to players. Their hope was that at least some regular players and gambling addicts would end their dependence on VLTs. But as governments should already know, creating a more restricted access to VLTs is not going to deter an addict.
So the province also contributes at least $150,000 a year to gambling-related education and treatment programs. That's less than 4% of the revenue that gambling generates. The one action that would be considered the most positive and effective manner in which to address gambling addiction is to ban VLTs. The government will not even consider an outright ban and the rest of us know why - government has become dependent themselves on the millions of dollars generated each year.
To anyone with only a passing interest in Nova Scotia's gambling issue, it might appear that the provincial government has incorporated positive and effective steps toward correcting a problem for which they are ultimately responsible. The news yesterday that this same provincial government is now providing taxpayer's money to assist with the payroll of a company whose business it is to promote gambling, has managed to blow away any pie-in-the-sky perceptions that our government is in any way concerned for the individual citizen.
The objections being expressed by many today are not directed toward SportsDirect Inc. If this business had planned to operate locally but privately without government funding, power to them. No objections. The problem lies with a two-faced government willing and eager to pump taxpayer's dollars into a betting and gambling business while at the same time extolling the evils of gambling.
Responsible government funding is something the voters in this province expect when we elect provincial leaders. What we don't expect is blatant hypocrisy but when we see it, we should be demanding a new more responsible and accountable governing body. |
