The Halifax Herald reports that the Nova Scotia government of NDP Premier Darrell Dexter has said the province will not get into the business of online gambling. However, the argument he makes against expanding government-run gambling is really an argument against government making gambling available anywhere: gambling can be harmful and therefore the province should not be in the business of making gambling easier. But the government already makes gambling widely available in Nova Scotia, so why isn’t Dexter considering scaling back the number of video lottery terminals in the province, which today numbers 2,234 (which is down from nearly 3000 several years ago)? The revenues are irresistible, I guess, so one might reasonably ask who has the gambling addiction.
For Interim coverage of gambling, see our April 2010 stories, “The problem with gambling,” and “Society, not just individuals, pay price for gambling.”
