If there was one theme to be taken from the memorable and historical Godfather trilogies, it was that everyone and everything has its own price.  Michael Cordeleone would make offers to others that they couldn’t refuse.  In other words, these people were well aware of the consequences for not going along with the program.

In the crazy, mixed-up world of online gambling, politicians are always walking the fine line of purporting to do what is right for their constituency, as opposed to doing what is right to get them re-elected.  For years, the politicians of British Columbia were dead-set against online gambling.  The line they used to use to defend their position was that they were “protecting the citizens from the harmful effects of compulsive gambling.”  

This is what the politicians believed the people wanted to hear but, in reality, this was not the case.  Statistics show that only a miniscule percentage of online gamblers have compulsivity in that area, and that this compulsivity is triggered by a person’s mental illness.  These individuals should not gamble in any type of venue, and they should be under a physician’s care for medical treatment of the compulsivity.

For the rest of us, online gambling is an excellent way to alleviate the stress from daily pressures, and it is a perfect leisure time activity.  However, it took a governmental financial crisis to push the lawmakers of British Columbia to unveil a major expansion of online gambling.   

According to the Minister of Housing and Social Development, Mr. Richard Coleman, who has oversight powers over the B.C. Lottery Corporation, the new era of online gambling in North America will soon begin.  British Columbia has become the first jurisdiction in North America to offer online gambling through its website, Playnow.com.  

On this site, citizens, who had heretofore been denied their personal right to play casino games online, can now partake in their favourite casino games, such as blackjack, roulette, poker and many more.  Additionally, these games can be accessed not only from computers but from mobile devices, such as cell phones, iPhones, BlackBerry and ipads. 

This is a turn-around of 180 degrees for the government of British Columbia which had spurned online gambling in the past as evil and addictive.  The response from the public was so overwhelming that the site crashed within hours of its opening from the weight of too many gamblers. 

The PlayNow.com site is expected to include protections to preclude underage gamblers as well as links to support programs for individuals who are seeking help for a gambling addiction or a related problem.  In any event, it is all about developing a reliable revenue stream for the government.