Monday, October 09, 2006

Nova Scotia is taking on a leadership role that may help stop problem
gambling before it starts. The province has helped develop software that
prevents children from surfing their way on to gaming websites. As many as
500 families across Nova Scotia will be able to try out the product for
free. "It's Internet-blocking software that's specially designed to help
parents keep kids off gambling websites," Margaret McGee, director of
prevention programming for the Nova Scotia Gaming Corp., said Friday. "It's
the first of its kind in the world." Ms. McGee said the corporation
developed the program, BetStopper, with the help of a U.S. software company.
"The idea came from the fact that there are a lot of Net Nanny softwares out
there, but they're not very effective when it comes to gambling because most
of them are designed for pornography and chat rooms and that sort of thing,"
she said. "And with the rising popularity of online gambling, particularly
among the youth age group, we wanted to do something that was a
demonstrable, tangible thing that showed that our commitment to doing our
part to prevent problem gambling is real." In a news release issued Friday,
the gaming corporation said BetStopper is considered 94 to 99 per cent
effective in blocking both legal and illegal online gambling sites and
blocks more than 2,300 casino-style websites from around the world. Similar
programs are only 56 to 79 per cent effective.

The new software uses artificial intelligence, a "blacklist" of blocked
websites and manual updates to help parents protect children under 19 from
online gambling, lottery and sports betting sites, the release said.

The pilot test of BetStopper begins today, the release said. Each family
participating in the project will fill out three surveys over six months but
will have a full year to try out the software.

"Research is going to look at things such as usability, effectiveness at
keeping kids off gambling websites, effectiveness at raising awareness of
the issue and motivating parents to talk to their kids about the issue and
the risks of gambling," Ms. McGee said.

John Dunsworth, a Halifax actor and self-confessed VLT addict, agreed
wholeheartedly that it's important to limit under-aged Internet users from
accessing addictive websites.

But he also said it's ironic that the government releasing new software to
do that is the same government making a profit from gamblers across Nova
Scotia.

"I just think it is wrong for the same people who are benefiting from
gambling . . . to be in charge of limiting their own revenue. It's a
conflict of interest - they just can't do it effectively," he said Friday
after hearing about the new software.

"The casino takes an awful lot of money out of this province. Why don't they
limit that?"

Mr. Dunsworth said it bothers him that the province continues to make
"profit from people's misery" and that it's the government's responsibility
"to protect the weak in so-ciety."

He emphasized that "any limiting of gambling among people who are immature
or incapacitated or inveterate or addicted is a good thing. . . . I think
it's
a real shame that so many kids have addictions to Internet gambling."

But Mr. Dunsworth said he would rather see a full ban on Internet gaming
sites in Canada.

"I think anything that will curb that hideous use of the high-tech Internet
would be a good idea."

Ms. McGee conceded the government does make money from gambling but said
that's why the province has a responsibility "to spend some of that money
doing our part to prevent youth gambling."