Alberta says gambling companies uniquely qualified to solve gambling addiction after causing enough of it
Arguing that the best people to address a public health problem are the ones profiting from it, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended her government’s expansion of online gambling by explaining that betting companies will now help pay for gambling addiction recovery.
The province acknowledged that thousands of Albertans were already using offshore gambling websites, concluding the only responsible response was to invite those companies in, collect tax revenue, and trust them to encourage customers to occasionally stop giving them money.
Operators will now offer self-exclusion tools, betting limits, and time reminders, allowing problem gamblers to pause briefly before clicking “Remove Limits” and continuing to fund both corporate earnings and provincial revenues.
Government officials called the arrangement “evidence-based,” noting that no one understands creating gambling addiction better than the gambling industry itself.
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