Gambling and The official opposition

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory slammed the proposal as just another distraction concocted by the governing Liberals to draw attention away from the province's current economic troubles.

"We should have a discussion about sportsbooks at our casinos because they're in trouble," he said.

"But at the end of the day, what problem is this going to solve? Is it going to fix the economy? Will it fix C. difficile or long-term care, or will it fix even the government's revenues? No, it won't."

But Conservative finance critic Tim Hudak said he's urged Nicholson and Smitherman to move quickly on the proposal.

"I do believe that this would be helpful to our casinos, to bring patrons back," said Hudak, who represents the riding of Niagara Falls-Glanbrook.

Expanding gambling at a time when the government barely has a handle on its problem gamblers is an "incredibly irresponsible" move, said NDP critic Peter Kormos.

"What this does illustrate is that it's the province who has the real gambling addiction, the real gambling dependency, because it's looking forward to those new revenues," he said.

If Ottawa agrees to the changes, the province could see sportsbooks in two Niagara Falls casinos, Casino Rama near Orillia and the new Caesars Windsor facility, as well as racetracks.

Currently, Canadian gamblers skirt the law by betting with sportsbooks in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, and a slew of other countries.

North American sports leagues have traditionally opposed sportsbooks – one reason why Las Vegas is not home to a major league team.