Casino In Toronto & How Gambling Is Just Plain Bad
Whether or not we ever got a casino in Toronto, most people living outside of the city may not have ever cared, and may not have ever even know that the city was supposed to get one. But it definitely started to make me think about gambling, casino’s and all the bad it really brings, and no I’m not going to rant about the crime. I just read an article about Canada and how our provinces are addicted to gambling revenues and what casino’s and other lottery and gaming facilities that pull outrageous amounts of money every year. Now don’t get me wrong I’m all for our government actually having money to spend on healthcare, education, transportation and all of that other fun stuff but the constant expansion of gambling centers are continuing to feed gambling addictions across our country.
Casino in Toronto or A City Near You
One of the things I wanted to talk about within this post is how having a casino within the city you live can affect you and the people around you. From a personal finance perspective, gambling is just terrible for your finances and definitely not a recommended strategy to fund your university career, pay for your first home etc. Let’s just say the odds are against you and the system is set so that OLG or other gambling bodies make money off of you. The Macleans article stated that in 2011 governments collected at least $550 in gambling revenues from Canadian citizens, and in Saskatchewan (I’m assuming the highest of all provinces) collects about $850 per Canadian citizen. The fact that there won’t be a casino in Toronto makes me extremely happy, but based on the OLG’s plans the casino will just end up somewhere else and will definitely lead to a increase in the amount the government will continue to collect in revenue per Canadian citizen.
My Gambling Experiences
I’m never going to sit here and preach this and preach that and tell you to keep making all of these great financial choices and say that I am perfect. Have I gambled before? Yes I have and it was at a casino, and not one but 2. I actually ended up going to Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls (don’t they just have great commercials?) and put in $5 and won $15 and off I went, walked away and went out to a bar instead. The other time I went which was in Windsor at Caesars Palace (yes under the influence of alcohol again) and lost $20 in the slot machines and was actually tempted to grab more money from the atm but decided against it. I remember walking through and seeing people who were clearly “regulars” sitting at not 1 but 2 slot machines simultaneously inserting coin after coin and not winning at all. I’m sure they won a bit of money at the end of the night but definitely not to cover the money they put in.
Bad, Bad, Bad
From scratch cards that are very easily accessible at convenience stores, off track betting and even slot machines at a local casino near you. The fact that Canadian gambling revenues have increase dramatically over the last 20 years by at least $12 billion makes you wonder how people will deal with the pressures of additional gambling locations popping up around the country. Will more people continue to fall into debt as they get suckered into larger jackpots for lotto 64/9 and their ever compelling television ads
Do you think the Canadian governments push to increase gambling revenues is counterproductive to overall economic health? Shouldn’t they be teaching citizens how to better manager their money instead of promoting addictive activities?
What are your thoughts?
