(Ottawa)- Today the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada is pleased to release a new report Government—gambling’s biggest addict.
The report examines provincial government gambling addictions in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. When governments mismanage spending, they are forced to become a bookie in order to further increase their own revenues. Author Derek Miedema calculates gambling takes another $534, on average, from every Canadian adult on top of already high tax levels.
Given Ontario’s deficit of $16 billion, the recent news that OLG is looking to expand in Ontario is no surprise.
Drastic measures to cut back ought to be taken, so that governments are no longer reliant on gambling revenue. Furthermore, governments are happy to expand gambling without conducting any research into the negative effects of gambling on individuals, families and society.
Therefore, the key recommendations in this report are:
“Provincial governments are encouraging gambling to enhance revenue, faced with ballooning deficits,” says Miedema. “One way to break the addiction is by spending this additional ‘tax’ on debt and deficit reduction. Governments must learn to watch their spending instead of going further into debt, thereby becoming even more reliant on gambling revenue.”
To download the full report, click here.
To arrange an interview please contact Derek Miedema, Researcher, at 613-565-3832 ext 7504.