The hotel association proposes creating a foundation to funnel 15 per cent of the slot machine revenues into medical research with hotel operators getting another 15 per cent and the province getting the final 70 percent. The specter of hotel operators lobbying government for more gambling business is nothing new in Alberta. Once again, the hotel lobby is attempting to influence the Alberta government to expand gambling to the industry's benefit. So far, government MLAs who have been quoted in the media do not favour the hotel association proposal. Nevertheless, history shows that the hotel lobby in Alberta is powerful, so I wouldn't bet the farm against lobbyists ultimately succeeding in getting their gaming rooms- starting with coin slots at first and, perhaps, expanding to table games in the future.
Internet gambling is already available in Alberta, as it is in other provinces.
On-line gambling is presently illegal and is typically operated from offshore locations, such as the Caribbean islands, which are outside the jurisdiction of Canadian governments. I conclude that, because the present laws against Internet gambling are inadequate and unenforceable, consumers are vulnerable to crimes such as fraud, credit card theft, and cheating. Moreover, there is no way for provinces to stop under-age gamblers from playing. Consequently, we speculate that legalization of Internet gambling seems likely because prohibition is futile in the face of advanced technology and there is tremendous potential for governments to raise large revenues. But we're not considering it at this point.