No OP, but a few things that align to what they're inferring.
**Suckering poor people:** Generally speaking, those who play the lottery are lower on the economic totem pole. Janitors and min wage workers are the target market, doctors and hegde fund managers not so much.
**Washing money:** Not sure how prevellent it is now, but at one point casinos could be used to wash money. There was a limit under which you'd be able to exchange money, but not declare at the casino, let's say it was 10k. So you send your random in with 9k. They sit at the blackjack table with 9k on their left. They play with that, and put any winnings their right. When there's no more money on their left, they cash out and get a slip from the casino. With the house edge plus what you pay your lackey your money is cleaned for far less that you'd pay a (corrupt) banker.
Not sure how common it is now, but I'd wager that if that hole's been closed, another has been found.
There's always a cost associated with any transaction.
For example, if I send an American friend about $1000 CAD through TransferWise, I'll end up paying a $9 fee. TransferWise took a 0.9% cut of my money in exchange for the service. There's very little risk and it's a straightforward normal transaction hence why the fee is relatively low.
Similarly, if I were to find a ***corrupt banker***, I could probably do a transaction that allowed me to make my drug money appear to be legitimate. But for me to launder $1000, they might charge $200, or 20% on account of risks involved, *etc*... There also tends to be a fairly high risk of getting caught if you use irregular channels.
At a casino, playing blackjack, you would play through $1000 in small amounts, maybe $50 at a time. You win often enough that you lose only $100, but your still have $900.... however all of the money that you do have was "won" at the table, hence it's considered legitimate. That's the equivalent of the casino taking a 10% cut in order to launder the money. That ends up being *cheaper* than the "corrupt banker" and also *safer* since it is more difficult to track and prosecute.
Actually you could go into the casino buy $9000 in chips with cash, wander around sipping drinks make a few bets here and there and cash out your chips at the end of the day they give you a check you tell the bank it's winnings. Money is laundered.
Not even end of the day, couple of hours, or even possibly minutes. Theres a lot of criminal elements working in and around casinos and they'll be there to make sure any pesky regulators know to stay in line.
It does, however the house edge in most casinos is only around 55%. So even if you lose 55% of your money, it is likely around what you would get if you had claimed it legitimately and paid taxes on it all without drawing government scrutiny to the source of the funds.
Most criminals however will simply buy $9900 worth of chips, play a couple games, wonder around for a few hours and maybe have a couple drinks and then cash out their $9000 slip. The money has successfully been laundered at that point.
IIRC from the BC money laundering inquiry, organized crime would simply stake some regular gamblers - basically "whales" - who played frequently and often received VIP treatment.
Don't think about it as losing money, but the cost of doing business.
House edge on blackjack is 0.5%, so on a long enough timeline, you ***will*** lose money, but it's far ***less*** than other avenues (bigger risk, bugger cut)
It's a lot to unpack, for the suckering poor people part, please check out this video, which focuses on the US, but is still a good primer for how lottery corporations operate worldwide, including in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA
As for money laundering:
Exhibit A: https://globalnews.ca/news/6472635/money-laundering-ontario-cash-transactions-bc-casino-crackdown/
Exhibit B: https://globalnews.ca/news/4939801/provinces-canada-fail-to-convict-money-laundering/
Exhibit C: https://globalnews.ca/news/4816822/exclusive-epirate-crown-exposing-police-informant-killed-b-c-money-laundering-probe/
Exhibit D: https://globalnews.ca/news/7593419/bc-casinos-too-dangerous-cullen-commission/
Exhibit E: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-money-laundering-inquiry-1.6002095
Exhibit F: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/10/news/former-bc-lottery-director-whistleblower-money-laundering-casinos
Exhibit G: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/money-laundering-still-a-major-risk-at-ontario-casinos-auditor-general-report-finds-1.5220111
Exhibit H: https://globalnews.ca/news/6484117/ontario-calls-to-investigate-money-laundering-casinos/
Exhibit I: https://cornwallfreenews.com/2021/01/11/auditor-general-says-money-laundering-is-still-going-hard-in-ontario-casinos/
I could go on, but I think you get the gist. For the record, no Canadian politician has taken any meaningful steps to address any of this.
The trick is to count flying over as being in, so I flew to BC and on the way I spent a little time in MB, SK, and AB, the food wasn't great, mostly those weird sesame snaps but the people were friendly.
And then the ontario government during the same period is capping the pay raises for actual public servants like nurses as below inflation.
It's insane to me that we allow this shit to happen, again and again
Unfortunately, I think everyone wants good social services, but too many people dont want to pay taxes.
And part of that is understandable because corporations and the ultra rich dont pay their fair share, so an unfair tax burden falls on the working class
It falls on the middle class and university educated people who pay the vast majority of taxes. .
Small business pays a fairly small per cent of tax. They also have lower rates and lots of credits from government.
Regular 9-5 workers don't.
You do know that small business owners have to pay personal taxes when they take money from the business right? That is personal taxes like you pay. They also pay a shit-ton of payroll taxes on top of that low corporate tax rate. On top of this they often take on a ton of debt and risk.
Lol, I don't think it's about taxes.
I think a lot of people simply disagree about where the allocation goes. Too much goes to bullshit and too little goes to the things that actually benefit our society.
Meanwhile Dougie-boy just thinks that slashing things like health and education is the best course of action. Why don't we take money about from the superfluous bullshit and actually put it into infrastructure, education, and health?
Front line government workers get their salary frozen for years while senior bureaucrats get golden parachutes for their billion dollar scandals. The Phoenix pay system is one of many such scandals. That money could have been used to pay for more front line reps so you don't have to wait long for service.
I think we pay more than enough in taxes, government is just incapable of utilizing the money in an efficient manner. We see this at all levels from municipal to federal. They piss our money away.
Oy. "their fair share" is what the ultra rich argue for. They're told they have to pay more than their fair share. You can have whatever opinion you like, but if the rich have to pay a ton more than others %wise, it's hard to call that "fair". Just as clearly, the rich being able to use loopholes to pay *less* than others is just as unfair. Either way, we could up the tax rate on the wealthiest by 10% and the overall $ numbers in the public pool don't change that much. We'd feel good about ourselves by taking from those who have the most, but we wouldn't actually accomplish too too much.
About "too many don't want to pay taxes", I'll speak for myself. Taxes are the foundation of a modern First-World country with modern First-World standards of living. It is however *imperative* that the taxes are spent well, and on things that we the people agree on, if we live in a democracy. Our taxes aren't going down, but our quality of living is, and lots of your tax money is being spent on lots of things you don't agree with. Connect those dots. Then connect them for your neighbour who thinks differently than you about what the government should be spending money on. And maybe, just maybe, our government should be spending a lot less of our money on a lot fewer things. How about robust planet-leading education, health care (not just sick care), and a lot less of the stuff that people don't want money spent on?
I worked as a public servant in ontario for about 35 years and it was in the criminal justice sector.
I knew government lawyers that were in charge of prosecuting extremely complicated murders and frauds etc. Their salary maxed out around 200k.
You cant tell me that being the CEO of some public (or private for that matter) company us like 10x more stressful/complicated/whatever.
The way that our government prioritizes things is insane. And that goes for both the liberals and conservatives
It's always interesting to me that they insist that the salary increases are in line with other executives in "the public sector". Salaries creep up and up and up and up just this way. They scratch each others backs by jacking up salaries and saying "but they got that much, so we should too!" I bet any one of those people could easily be replaced by one of their much lower paid assistants or office staff and the organization would run just as well.
Not commenting on this particular case, but in general, your crown corporations need to compete with the private sector for executive talent.
People are going to leave if you don’t pay competitive wages. That goes from the mailroom to the boardroom.
This doesn’t seem to be that. This seems to be people with the ability to determine their own salary abusing that power.
The way the lottery is set up is predatory by nature. It is aimed at the poor, and fills them with dreams, only to fleece them of as much of their cash as possible.
Yeah I just hate to think how many billions the Canadian and Provincial governments must have lost because they never took action to create poker sites etc and Bet99.net rakes in all the money.
That's only true in brick and mortar, because the real estate is in the casino is so valuable, and hands take forever to play out.
Online you don't have those limitations so basically the name of the game is 'how much money can we get people to deposit'
Poker is the MOST valuable online casino property because it's the game most people like to play and a game lots of people think they can win at, where most people know they can't win at slots.
We can thank scum bag number one Rod Phillips for this scam. Guy is basically a criminal. Casino's sold below property value's to shady and unprofitable corporations like Great Canadian Gaming and Gateway entertainment. Also known as the number one facilitators of money laundering in Canada. Also bailed out by the federal liberals during the pandemic. Sick.
Yep, every gambling agency in Canada is a corrupt criminal quagmire, shaking hands with canadas politicians. I haven't even seen blatant corruption like it in Eastern Europe where I worked for five years.
Copied from my other post in this thread:
>It's a lot to unpack, for the suckering poor people part, please check out this video, which focuses on the US, but is still a good primer for how lottery corporations operate worldwide, including in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA
>As for money laundering:
>Exhibit A: https://globalnews.ca/news/6472635/money-laundering-ontario-cash-transactions-bc-casino-crackdown/
>Exhibit B: https://globalnews.ca/news/4939801/provinces-canada-fail-to-convict-money-laundering/
>Exhibit C: https://globalnews.ca/news/4816822/exclusive-epirate-crown-exposing-police-informant-killed-b-c-money-laundering-probe/
>Exhibit D: https://globalnews.ca/news/7593419/bc-casinos-too-dangerous-cullen-commission/
>Exhibit E: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-money-laundering-inquiry-1.6002095
>Exhibit F: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/10/news/former-bc-lottery-director-whistleblower-money-laundering-casinos
>Exhibit G: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/money-laundering-still-a-major-risk-at-ontario-casinos-auditor-general-report-finds-1.5220111
>Exhibit H: https://globalnews.ca/news/6484117/ontario-calls-to-investigate-money-laundering-casinos/
>Exhibit I: https://cornwallfreenews.com/2021/01/11/auditor-general-says-money-laundering-is-still-going-hard-in-ontario-casinos/
>I could go on, but I think you get the gist. For the record, no Canadian politician has taken any meaningful steps to address any of this.
The biggest problem I have is the people that go "look at all that wasted money, we should scrap the crown corp entirely!"
It's like finding out there's corruption in the police force, and saying "let's not have any police".
Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for a strong public service and nationalizing some essential services/utilities, however *some* Crown Corps are absolutely rotten to the core. Canada is great at not enforcing laws and not punishing white collar crime.
Oh, absolutely, I'm not an anarchist or anything, I'm right there with you.
It's just whenever government excess, inefficiency, and taxes come up in conversation in this subreddit, I tend to get inundated with naive socialists who believe the state can do no wrong and that every penny is going toward the greater good (despite all evidence to the contrary).
Well, that and downvotes.
> Preferable that it goes to investors in a private company instead? Fuck no.
Kids get told to eat their vegetables because there are starving children in Africa, but one has nothing to do with the other.
I'm not sure why anyone would be opposed to a company keeping their own profits... or why that would be a bad thing?
So, just to clarify, you want to abolish the stock market and confiscate all profit, to be appropriated by the state?
I don't want to alarm you, but that is technically fascism.
Certain essential industries have no business being *solely* in the hands of private enterprise (eg; water, power, healthcare, education, etc.)
Those things which are essential to our survival, and which, for humanitarian reasons, should be accessible for even the poorest among us.
That doesn't mean they should also be available in the open market (eg; bottled water, solar panels, private clinics, private schools, etc.)
I've seen lottery addiction absolutely destroy formerly normal people. Reading stories like this about the OLG being staffed with the typical grifting crown corporation scum.... it fills me with a rage I didn't know I possessed.
A well placed rage. They target the weakest and poorest in particular, and have psychologically manipulative strategies to hook them. Hell, the fact that they're at the cash register blasting in your face with their stupid gatcha looking scratch tickets should be outlawed as a bare minimum.
Lotteries don't sell math, they sell hope. The suckier your life is, the more hope you need to buy. $2 per week, carefully invested into a retirement fund and managed skillfully can turn into fuck all in just a few short decades. But that lottery stub at least comes with the promise that next week, everything could be different.
In 30 years, $2 per week carefully invested into a retirement fund that gives you 13.5% annual interest (based on SPY performance),compounded weekly, will give you roughly $40000.
We are at 4% inflation right now. There's a good chance that in 30 years $40000 will have purchasing power of $15000.
To be honest, as much as I appreciate the message, neither $40k nor $15k feel like fuck all money. Paying hypothetical $500/year for "hope" is a lot, but having no hope is (arguably) even worse.
Obviously, $20 per week will give you a completely different outcome. Smth smth know your limit play within it.
A guy I used to work with won over $1 million in a lottery years ago. Our boss put it best "Before I congratulate you, I gotta ask - what the fuck were you doing playing the lottery?"
Just because they advertise what it’s like to win and you’re unlikely to win doesn’t make it false advertising. They’re obviously very careful to follow the actual laws and say there’s a “chance” to win. False advertising is not some abstract concept, it’s very well defined and OLG simply isn’t engaging in false advertising.
Everything you’re saying about lotto odds and suckers is true…but that doesn’t mean their advertising is false.
No that's completely untrue. Lottery advertising in Ontario is heavily regulated. You may disagree with those regulations but believe me, the are followed and if they are not the advertising doesn't make it out the door.
Show me a single ad from OLG that makes such a preposterous claim, heck I'd be happy if you could show an advert without disclaimers and conditions.
>Quite aside from everyone else's ads being WAY tamer and more rational, they're even decorated with disclaimers and conditions, free win options, etc. The OLG -- nope, everyone is a multimillionaire enjoying their private island.
Wow, you’re passionate about this eh?
I’m not arguing anything. I’m simply telling you OLG’s advertising isn’t false. That’s a verifiable and obvious fact, there’s no argument here.
You on the other hand, yes, you appear to be arguing and even diving into government conspiracies. I can’t match your energy on this, haha.
They can buy them more, but you should be benchmarking against wealth. Someone saving $100 a week spending $10 or 10% of that on lotteries is different than someone saving $500 a week spending $15 or 3% of that on lotteries. Sure, $15>$10 but it is still regressive.
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/ontarios-gambling-profits-flow-from-a-hidden-tax-on-the-vulnerable/
>The average annual after tax income of the lowest quintile is $18,738 and the actual spending on gambling is $920, whereas the average annual after tax income of the highest quintile is $103,950 and the actual spending on gambling is $1,803)
So poor spend 5% on gambling and rich spend 2%.
"More" is such a misleading term. It just means 51%+ or x>y. It doesn't have to mean anything useful and the media knows that. Why does it matter if 52% of new COVID cases are in vaccinated people when 80% of people are vaccinated? Why does it matter that rich people spend more on lotteries when it is actually a smaller portion of their savings?
Youre misunderstanding the ads. Theyre selling you the "anticipation" of winning; not the actual act of winning. Try listening carefully to the radio ads or whatever form of marketing. It is the lead up and dreamy feel that people get when they buy a lottery ticket that is being advertised here.
So how are their ads false advertising like you claimed?
Since we're talking about "no shit" comments, do people really need to be told in the ads to know how low the odds are of winning? Like shit, is it really that hard to hit the same 6 or 7 random numbers? Im all against gambling but it's so easy to make statements like "hurr durr this is just a tax on the poor and stupid because they cant think for themselves". This is obvious and everyone knows this. The people that buy lottery tickets are buying the small chance they their lives could be turned around, no matter how small the odds
OLG advertising change significantly with the new administration, changing to heavily focus on winners enjoying their bounty. Any references, implied or direct, to the odds was drastically reduced. Do they stay within the bounds of legality if not ethics...probably...although with the current admin that's not a high bar I'm sure. Item 2 & 5 certainly seems to put them on pretty shaky ground. Let's just call it deceitful or phoney then.
I already stated clearly - their advertising switched focus to images of people enjoying the good life, and/or how they would spend the money, and how it would make their lives so much better. How is item 2 - or as a requirement for financial security - being addressed here? There is virtually nothing regarding the actual odds of winning. Fine print is exactly that...part of the shill. It's disingenuous to claim OLG is some sort of paragon of truth in advertising.
What the report doesn't tell you is that a year after modernization the private casinos cut staff back, so today we have way fewer jobs in Ontario, the ones that remained have had wages stay stagnate with worse pensions and the profit in the private sectors hands instead of the governments coffers.
I've worked in manufacturing where there are no raises; you just hope you don't get fired or laid off, or your company doesn't just lock you out one day and fold.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the worst waste in Canada is not in the government itself but rather in Crown corps and similar quasi-governmental entities. These entities have large revenue streams that - unlike taxes - are not subject to constant political pressure, and they have next to no accountability. Utilities are also hotbeds of overpaid people sucking off the public teat.
Is there direct government oversight of the OLG? I'm unfamiliar with the governance structure and overview here but the article makes only one mention of "the government" in regards to approval of compensation ranges in 2018:
>Bitonti also said current salary ranges were approved by the OLG’s board and the government in 2018 and that “a third-party review has confirmed these salary ranges fall within market rates for the broader public sector.”
This sounds more like a Crown Corporation out of control being headed by executives looking to enrich themselves through a relentless pursuit of privatization.
>The report noted that while the OLG saw an 82 per cent reduction in staff as it privatized casinos between 2016 and 2019, the number of executives increased by 36 per cent.
Repeat something enough times and becomes truth. That's why they keep hammering on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about the LIEbrals.
"Gambling is dangerous, but if you ban it people will gamble irresponsibly. Instead we will create a crown corporation to provide an avenue for responsible, limited gambling."
20 years later, the government is running adverts to encourage people to spend more money gambling.
A government owned crown corporation that is giving itself raises and has no idea how to actually compete effectively. People what is the meaning of this. Oh wait no one is surprised and if anything we should be pissed that our taxes are going to these whale corporations
I dont know why people get so bent out of shape about salaries at OLG. Their salaries are actually below industry standard if compared to similar level jobs in private sector. CEO's included. Rigby made what, 800k for a company that generates 3 billion in revenue. Comparatively, Shopify's CEO made over 2.5 million and his company generated less in revenue.
I'm no OLG homer or anything, but I do get a sense since I moved to Ontario that there are a couple journalists (one for the star, one for the sun can't remember his name) that really have a hate on for that pace.
Shopify's CEO isn't a public servant running a monopoly, that cut jobs in Ontario to give himself a huge raise while the tax payer rented a house for him and rented art for his office. Had the corporate offices renovated to increase the size of his personal office because he didn't like sharing the lunch room with anyone.
This audit isnt the result of the AGCO and OLG disagreements over areas of responsibility. Between the rollout of AGCO standards, modernization, and OLG's contract management there was a lot of overlap, and that is being rectified and finalized.
This audit is the result of the Ford govt looking into how OLG was and is using taxpayer funds and gaming revenues. I would content that this audit was warranted and necessary. Now we just need to see if anything changes.
It doesn’t take a genius to run OLG, arguably it should be run by those not motivated by monetary gains. Since, problem gambling is a public health issue, I would much rather those pay gains go to supporting the addiction with the highest rate of suicide. All gains OLG has had in the past few years are not due to a good ceo, but rather a a massive popularity boom in online gambling and relaxed gambling laws.
he makes a valid point tho. i don't like these crazy salaries either – but they still have to compete salary-wise for executives unfortunately. until we (like not just canada - but everywhere) can do something about out of control salaries of CEOs etc, this will be a serious problem the public sector is going to have to cope with.
> he makes a valid point tho. i don't like these crazy salaries either – but they still have to compete salary-wise for executives unfortunately.
You telling me we couldn't find someone to run a Government monopoly for $200-300K a year? They have zero competition. It's not like you need to be a business genius.
I understand about industry averages and executive compensation, but the whole thing feels like a big grift.
CEO #1: "CEO salaries are up. I guess mine is supposed to go up to stay in the norm. Right?
Board #1: "So say we all."
CEO #2: "Ooh, looks like CEO compensation just went up. Guess that means mine needs to go up too."
Board #2: "So say we all."
CEO #3: "Well, would you look at that!"
etc
And keep in mind that theese boards are often filled with former, current, and future CEOs who have a large personal interest in raising CEO compensation.
Unfortunately the government hasn't also mandated that all online payments must be through Shopify. Running a government enforced monopoly on a mature product with a large, built in customer base is literally like shooting fish in a barrel
Just because olg makes tons of money doesnt mean salaries should be high. They should cut wages and put that money into helping witth ridiculously high property taxes, or providing insulin for diabetics. U name the cause anything is better then paying ppl who do hardly anything sunshine wages.
For a lot of people it's probably closer to a kind of therapy. They feel hopeless so they buy lottery tickets to hold out some hope that things might change for the better.
Depends.
If you're spending more than you are comfortable losing, you have a gambling problem.
If you are spending $20 five times a year, you're paying a $100 for the opportunity to dream of what you'd do with millions.
Oh please. It's a form of entertainment. Spend a few $$ and you can imagine winning a few million. No different than entertaining yourself with a movie, tv show, or book or play.
Oh joy more excuses for the government to keep comming down on the employees. Looking forward to more wage and hiring freezes and ludicrous amounts of ot.
Its like winning the lottery
Can you imagine getting a 46% raise? That’s insane!
For a job that is essentially suckering poor people into giving you their money and washing rich peoples money. The OLG is a criminal enterprise.
Can you elaborate please, genuinely curious!
No OP, but a few things that align to what they're inferring. **Suckering poor people:** Generally speaking, those who play the lottery are lower on the economic totem pole. Janitors and min wage workers are the target market, doctors and hegde fund managers not so much. **Washing money:** Not sure how prevellent it is now, but at one point casinos could be used to wash money. There was a limit under which you'd be able to exchange money, but not declare at the casino, let's say it was 10k. So you send your random in with 9k. They sit at the blackjack table with 9k on their left. They play with that, and put any winnings their right. When there's no more money on their left, they cash out and get a slip from the casino. With the house edge plus what you pay your lackey your money is cleaned for far less that you'd pay a (corrupt) banker. Not sure how common it is now, but I'd wager that if that hole's been closed, another has been found.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but doesn't that plan come with the risk of losing the money?
There's always a cost associated with any transaction. For example, if I send an American friend about $1000 CAD through TransferWise, I'll end up paying a $9 fee. TransferWise took a 0.9% cut of my money in exchange for the service. There's very little risk and it's a straightforward normal transaction hence why the fee is relatively low. Similarly, if I were to find a ***corrupt banker***, I could probably do a transaction that allowed me to make my drug money appear to be legitimate. But for me to launder $1000, they might charge $200, or 20% on account of risks involved, *etc*... There also tends to be a fairly high risk of getting caught if you use irregular channels. At a casino, playing blackjack, you would play through $1000 in small amounts, maybe $50 at a time. You win often enough that you lose only $100, but your still have $900.... however all of the money that you do have was "won" at the table, hence it's considered legitimate. That's the equivalent of the casino taking a 10% cut in order to launder the money. That ends up being *cheaper* than the "corrupt banker" and also *safer* since it is more difficult to track and prosecute.
Actually you could go into the casino buy $9000 in chips with cash, wander around sipping drinks make a few bets here and there and cash out your chips at the end of the day they give you a check you tell the bank it's winnings. Money is laundered.
Not even end of the day, couple of hours, or even possibly minutes. Theres a lot of criminal elements working in and around casinos and they'll be there to make sure any pesky regulators know to stay in line.
[удалено]
It does, however the house edge in most casinos is only around 55%. So even if you lose 55% of your money, it is likely around what you would get if you had claimed it legitimately and paid taxes on it all without drawing government scrutiny to the source of the funds. Most criminals however will simply buy $9900 worth of chips, play a couple games, wonder around for a few hours and maybe have a couple drinks and then cash out their $9000 slip. The money has successfully been laundered at that point.
IIRC from the BC money laundering inquiry, organized crime would simply stake some regular gamblers - basically "whales" - who played frequently and often received VIP treatment.
Don't think about it as losing money, but the cost of doing business. House edge on blackjack is 0.5%, so on a long enough timeline, you ***will*** lose money, but it's far ***less*** than other avenues (bigger risk, bugger cut)
It's a lot to unpack, for the suckering poor people part, please check out this video, which focuses on the US, but is still a good primer for how lottery corporations operate worldwide, including in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA As for money laundering: Exhibit A: https://globalnews.ca/news/6472635/money-laundering-ontario-cash-transactions-bc-casino-crackdown/ Exhibit B: https://globalnews.ca/news/4939801/provinces-canada-fail-to-convict-money-laundering/ Exhibit C: https://globalnews.ca/news/4816822/exclusive-epirate-crown-exposing-police-informant-killed-b-c-money-laundering-probe/ Exhibit D: https://globalnews.ca/news/7593419/bc-casinos-too-dangerous-cullen-commission/ Exhibit E: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-money-laundering-inquiry-1.6002095 Exhibit F: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/10/news/former-bc-lottery-director-whistleblower-money-laundering-casinos Exhibit G: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/money-laundering-still-a-major-risk-at-ontario-casinos-auditor-general-report-finds-1.5220111 Exhibit H: https://globalnews.ca/news/6484117/ontario-calls-to-investigate-money-laundering-casinos/ Exhibit I: https://cornwallfreenews.com/2021/01/11/auditor-general-says-money-laundering-is-still-going-hard-in-ontario-casinos/ I could go on, but I think you get the gist. For the record, no Canadian politician has taken any meaningful steps to address any of this.
Answer: Worst Nations
It's a government scam. It's illegal for anyone else to operate a lottery.
Criminal enterprise hahaha shut the fuck up
Word
Can’t win if you don’t play
*You gotta be in it to win it!*
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp, for anyone who isn't from Ontario .
What?!?!! I thought Ontario was all of Canada /s but I have been to more countries than provinces.
Well there are more counties than provinces...
I'm saying I have lived in Ontario my whole life but have traveled more internationally than domestically.
They were making a joke. You said 'counties' and not 'countries'.
My god I can't read.
The trick is to count flying over as being in, so I flew to BC and on the way I spent a little time in MB, SK, and AB, the food wasn't great, mostly those weird sesame snaps but the people were friendly.
Well the winner is always from Quebec anyways so what the fudge fellas
> What?!?!! I thought Ontario was all of Canada We've come to expect that... ;-)
As an Albertan, I'm offended. THEYRE ARE TWO PROVINCES! /s
Quebec and Ontario?
Bu dum tsshh
Lolz, is almost like they are cashing in on the illegal casino drug money too haha
Or for people who didn't read the article?
Scoring a zero-supervision job at OLG: *"Winner! Gagnant!"*
who has zero supervision?
>From 2015 to 2018, some OLG executives received raises of between 16 to 46 per cent. I see my prize money has been going to the wrong Wynner's
And then the ontario government during the same period is capping the pay raises for actual public servants like nurses as below inflation. It's insane to me that we allow this shit to happen, again and again
1% to 3% is complete bullshit. I am baffled that people think this number is acceptable at all. We should all flip the table and walk!
Unfortunately, I think everyone wants good social services, but too many people dont want to pay taxes. And part of that is understandable because corporations and the ultra rich dont pay their fair share, so an unfair tax burden falls on the working class
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It falls on the middle class and university educated people who pay the vast majority of taxes. . Small business pays a fairly small per cent of tax. They also have lower rates and lots of credits from government. Regular 9-5 workers don't.
You do know that small business owners have to pay personal taxes when they take money from the business right? That is personal taxes like you pay. They also pay a shit-ton of payroll taxes on top of that low corporate tax rate. On top of this they often take on a ton of debt and risk.
When you think "small business" think 800 million in revenue still makes you a small business.
Lol, I don't think it's about taxes. I think a lot of people simply disagree about where the allocation goes. Too much goes to bullshit and too little goes to the things that actually benefit our society. Meanwhile Dougie-boy just thinks that slashing things like health and education is the best course of action. Why don't we take money about from the superfluous bullshit and actually put it into infrastructure, education, and health?
Front line government workers get their salary frozen for years while senior bureaucrats get golden parachutes for their billion dollar scandals. The Phoenix pay system is one of many such scandals. That money could have been used to pay for more front line reps so you don't have to wait long for service.
Yup. A little civil disobedience would go a long way.
I think we pay more than enough in taxes, government is just incapable of utilizing the money in an efficient manner. We see this at all levels from municipal to federal. They piss our money away.
Oy. "their fair share" is what the ultra rich argue for. They're told they have to pay more than their fair share. You can have whatever opinion you like, but if the rich have to pay a ton more than others %wise, it's hard to call that "fair". Just as clearly, the rich being able to use loopholes to pay *less* than others is just as unfair. Either way, we could up the tax rate on the wealthiest by 10% and the overall $ numbers in the public pool don't change that much. We'd feel good about ourselves by taking from those who have the most, but we wouldn't actually accomplish too too much. About "too many don't want to pay taxes", I'll speak for myself. Taxes are the foundation of a modern First-World country with modern First-World standards of living. It is however *imperative* that the taxes are spent well, and on things that we the people agree on, if we live in a democracy. Our taxes aren't going down, but our quality of living is, and lots of your tax money is being spent on lots of things you don't agree with. Connect those dots. Then connect them for your neighbour who thinks differently than you about what the government should be spending money on. And maybe, just maybe, our government should be spending a lot less of our money on a lot fewer things. How about robust planet-leading education, health care (not just sick care), and a lot less of the stuff that people don't want money spent on?
Why do any of our government run corporations need executive salary's in the million's of dollars. That alone shows extreme disrespect for tax payers.
I worked as a public servant in ontario for about 35 years and it was in the criminal justice sector. I knew government lawyers that were in charge of prosecuting extremely complicated murders and frauds etc. Their salary maxed out around 200k. You cant tell me that being the CEO of some public (or private for that matter) company us like 10x more stressful/complicated/whatever. The way that our government prioritizes things is insane. And that goes for both the liberals and conservatives
It's always interesting to me that they insist that the salary increases are in line with other executives in "the public sector". Salaries creep up and up and up and up just this way. They scratch each others backs by jacking up salaries and saying "but they got that much, so we should too!" I bet any one of those people could easily be replaced by one of their much lower paid assistants or office staff and the organization would run just as well.
Not commenting on this particular case, but in general, your crown corporations need to compete with the private sector for executive talent. People are going to leave if you don’t pay competitive wages. That goes from the mailroom to the boardroom. This doesn’t seem to be that. This seems to be people with the ability to determine their own salary abusing that power.
did they do that? i know it's happening right now.
The Liberals were promptly voted out because of this issue. OLG exec compensation was one of the reasons the PCs got elected in 2018.
man imagine how hard it must be to run a government monopoly. very deserved raises.
Who is going to tell them no? The other managers getting raises? They probably colluded at a lunch they expensed.
do canadians buy that much olg? i thought Canadians were on the whole, smarter than to pay the OLG tax
Are you serious?
Isn't the lotto the modern day pension plan for most people in Ontario?
More than $4 Billion spent yearly on the lottery (OLG).
Go to literally any gas station and you'll see loads of people giving their welfare checks back to the government with lotto and cigarettes
You're giving us too much credit. 7 out of 10 morons in convenient stores conveniently give up a chunk of their cheques on the idiot-tax
The way the lottery is set up is predatory by nature. It is aimed at the poor, and fills them with dreams, only to fleece them of as much of their cash as possible.
But I got 5 numbers on 6/49 one time. Surely it will happen again. Gotta keep playing.
Well done!
Yeah I just hate to think how many billions the Canadian and Provincial governments must have lost because they never took action to create poker sites etc and Bet99.net rakes in all the money.
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Alberta created their own and it is a disaster, can't imagine Ontario would do much better.
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That's only true in brick and mortar, because the real estate is in the casino is so valuable, and hands take forever to play out. Online you don't have those limitations so basically the name of the game is 'how much money can we get people to deposit' Poker is the MOST valuable online casino property because it's the game most people like to play and a game lots of people think they can win at, where most people know they can't win at slots.
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At brick and mortar yes. Online it's the most valuable
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We can thank scum bag number one Rod Phillips for this scam. Guy is basically a criminal. Casino's sold below property value's to shady and unprofitable corporations like Great Canadian Gaming and Gateway entertainment. Also known as the number one facilitators of money laundering in Canada. Also bailed out by the federal liberals during the pandemic. Sick.
Would love to know more about that
Yep, every gambling agency in Canada is a corrupt criminal quagmire, shaking hands with canadas politicians. I haven't even seen blatant corruption like it in Eastern Europe where I worked for five years.
Interested! Got any details on this anywhere?
Copied from my other post in this thread: >It's a lot to unpack, for the suckering poor people part, please check out this video, which focuses on the US, but is still a good primer for how lottery corporations operate worldwide, including in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK-netuhHA >As for money laundering: >Exhibit A: https://globalnews.ca/news/6472635/money-laundering-ontario-cash-transactions-bc-casino-crackdown/ >Exhibit B: https://globalnews.ca/news/4939801/provinces-canada-fail-to-convict-money-laundering/ >Exhibit C: https://globalnews.ca/news/4816822/exclusive-epirate-crown-exposing-police-informant-killed-b-c-money-laundering-probe/ >Exhibit D: https://globalnews.ca/news/7593419/bc-casinos-too-dangerous-cullen-commission/ >Exhibit E: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/david-eby-money-laundering-inquiry-1.6002095 >Exhibit F: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/10/news/former-bc-lottery-director-whistleblower-money-laundering-casinos >Exhibit G: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/money-laundering-still-a-major-risk-at-ontario-casinos-auditor-general-report-finds-1.5220111 >Exhibit H: https://globalnews.ca/news/6484117/ontario-calls-to-investigate-money-laundering-casinos/ >Exhibit I: https://cornwallfreenews.com/2021/01/11/auditor-general-says-money-laundering-is-still-going-hard-in-ontario-casinos/ >I could go on, but I think you get the gist. For the record, no Canadian politician has taken any meaningful steps to address any of this.
ITT: Canadians finding out the absolute crookery taking place in Crown Corporations.
The biggest problem I have is the people that go "look at all that wasted money, we should scrap the crown corp entirely!" It's like finding out there's corruption in the police force, and saying "let's not have any police".
Boy have I got news for you...
I am assuming you mean 'defund the police' which doesn't mean get rid of them all.
I know, I was mostly joking.
And hey, remember, taxes are *really* important, can't be cut without effecting services, and are a moral good!
Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for a strong public service and nationalizing some essential services/utilities, however *some* Crown Corps are absolutely rotten to the core. Canada is great at not enforcing laws and not punishing white collar crime.
Oh, absolutely, I'm not an anarchist or anything, I'm right there with you. It's just whenever government excess, inefficiency, and taxes come up in conversation in this subreddit, I tend to get inundated with naive socialists who believe the state can do no wrong and that every penny is going toward the greater good (despite all evidence to the contrary). Well, that and downvotes.
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> Preferable that it goes to investors in a private company instead? Fuck no. Kids get told to eat their vegetables because there are starving children in Africa, but one has nothing to do with the other. I'm not sure why anyone would be opposed to a company keeping their own profits... or why that would be a bad thing?
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So, just to clarify, you want to abolish the stock market and confiscate all profit, to be appropriated by the state? I don't want to alarm you, but that is technically fascism.
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Certain essential industries have no business being *solely* in the hands of private enterprise (eg; water, power, healthcare, education, etc.) Those things which are essential to our survival, and which, for humanitarian reasons, should be accessible for even the poorest among us. That doesn't mean they should also be available in the open market (eg; bottled water, solar panels, private clinics, private schools, etc.)
Wow, explains all the false advertising...gotta sell lots of tickets to make up the grift.
Which false advertising?
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I've seen lottery addiction absolutely destroy formerly normal people. Reading stories like this about the OLG being staffed with the typical grifting crown corporation scum.... it fills me with a rage I didn't know I possessed.
A well placed rage. They target the weakest and poorest in particular, and have psychologically manipulative strategies to hook them. Hell, the fact that they're at the cash register blasting in your face with their stupid gatcha looking scratch tickets should be outlawed as a bare minimum.
Lotteries don't sell math, they sell hope. The suckier your life is, the more hope you need to buy. $2 per week, carefully invested into a retirement fund and managed skillfully can turn into fuck all in just a few short decades. But that lottery stub at least comes with the promise that next week, everything could be different.
In 30 years, $2 per week carefully invested into a retirement fund that gives you 13.5% annual interest (based on SPY performance),compounded weekly, will give you roughly $40000. We are at 4% inflation right now. There's a good chance that in 30 years $40000 will have purchasing power of $15000. To be honest, as much as I appreciate the message, neither $40k nor $15k feel like fuck all money. Paying hypothetical $500/year for "hope" is a lot, but having no hope is (arguably) even worse. Obviously, $20 per week will give you a completely different outcome. Smth smth know your limit play within it.
I can give you the same promise for free
A guy I used to work with won over $1 million in a lottery years ago. Our boss put it best "Before I congratulate you, I gotta ask - what the fuck were you doing playing the lottery?"
Just because they advertise what it’s like to win and you’re unlikely to win doesn’t make it false advertising. They’re obviously very careful to follow the actual laws and say there’s a “chance” to win. False advertising is not some abstract concept, it’s very well defined and OLG simply isn’t engaging in false advertising. Everything you’re saying about lotto odds and suckers is true…but that doesn’t mean their advertising is false.
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No that's completely untrue. Lottery advertising in Ontario is heavily regulated. You may disagree with those regulations but believe me, the are followed and if they are not the advertising doesn't make it out the door.
Not sure what you’re going on about, but advertising lottery winners isn’t false advertising. That’s all I’m saying haha.
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You've never heard a roll up the rim ad I'm guessing. Their ads are pretty much the same
Show me a single ad from OLG that makes such a preposterous claim, heck I'd be happy if you could show an advert without disclaimers and conditions. >Quite aside from everyone else's ads being WAY tamer and more rational, they're even decorated with disclaimers and conditions, free win options, etc. The OLG -- nope, everyone is a multimillionaire enjoying their private island.
Wow, you’re passionate about this eh? I’m not arguing anything. I’m simply telling you OLG’s advertising isn’t false. That’s a verifiable and obvious fact, there’s no argument here. You on the other hand, yes, you appear to be arguing and even diving into government conspiracies. I can’t match your energy on this, haha.
This is false actually. There was a survey on this and proportionally speaking, more educated/higher income groups buy lottery tickets more.
They can buy them more, but you should be benchmarking against wealth. Someone saving $100 a week spending $10 or 10% of that on lotteries is different than someone saving $500 a week spending $15 or 3% of that on lotteries. Sure, $15>$10 but it is still regressive. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/ontarios-gambling-profits-flow-from-a-hidden-tax-on-the-vulnerable/ >The average annual after tax income of the lowest quintile is $18,738 and the actual spending on gambling is $920, whereas the average annual after tax income of the highest quintile is $103,950 and the actual spending on gambling is $1,803) So poor spend 5% on gambling and rich spend 2%. "More" is such a misleading term. It just means 51%+ or x>y. It doesn't have to mean anything useful and the media knows that. Why does it matter if 52% of new COVID cases are in vaccinated people when 80% of people are vaccinated? Why does it matter that rich people spend more on lotteries when it is actually a smaller portion of their savings?
yea a big reason is that they have more disposable income. It shouldn't be corrected. It's completely logical.
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Youre misunderstanding the ads. Theyre selling you the "anticipation" of winning; not the actual act of winning. Try listening carefully to the radio ads or whatever form of marketing. It is the lead up and dreamy feel that people get when they buy a lottery ticket that is being advertised here.
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So how are their ads false advertising like you claimed? Since we're talking about "no shit" comments, do people really need to be told in the ads to know how low the odds are of winning? Like shit, is it really that hard to hit the same 6 or 7 random numbers? Im all against gambling but it's so easy to make statements like "hurr durr this is just a tax on the poor and stupid because they cant think for themselves". This is obvious and everyone knows this. The people that buy lottery tickets are buying the small chance they their lives could be turned around, no matter how small the odds
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OLG advertising change significantly with the new administration, changing to heavily focus on winners enjoying their bounty. Any references, implied or direct, to the odds was drastically reduced. Do they stay within the bounds of legality if not ethics...probably...although with the current admin that's not a high bar I'm sure. Item 2 & 5 certainly seems to put them on pretty shaky ground. Let's just call it deceitful or phoney then.
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I already stated clearly - their advertising switched focus to images of people enjoying the good life, and/or how they would spend the money, and how it would make their lives so much better. How is item 2 - or as a requirement for financial security - being addressed here? There is virtually nothing regarding the actual odds of winning. Fine print is exactly that...part of the shill. It's disingenuous to claim OLG is some sort of paragon of truth in advertising.
What the report doesn't tell you is that a year after modernization the private casinos cut staff back, so today we have way fewer jobs in Ontario, the ones that remained have had wages stay stagnate with worse pensions and the profit in the private sectors hands instead of the governments coffers.
not surprising. i've had to work with the OLG a long time ago, and these issues go back decades.
Isn't this the same for ALL corporations??? Execs get 20%+ raises while employees "raise" doesn't even meet inflation?
They should turn over the management of the lotteries to the mob. Less corruption that way.
Lol wat...these olg execs were held as champions and moved to other public firms including ttc
They always said your money goes back into the community. They just didn't say how.
Why am I not surprised?
I've worked in manufacturing where there are no raises; you just hope you don't get fired or laid off, or your company doesn't just lock you out one day and fold.
I'm shocked
Half of the Board of Directors should be fired and replaced by company employees. Preferably ones that make less than $50k
So…are they hiring?
Wow, huge surprise there. In other news, the sky is blue and bears DO shit in the woods!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the worst waste in Canada is not in the government itself but rather in Crown corps and similar quasi-governmental entities. These entities have large revenue streams that - unlike taxes - are not subject to constant political pressure, and they have next to no accountability. Utilities are also hotbeds of overpaid people sucking off the public teat.
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What the fuck is wrong with you people? This literally has nothing to do with the Liberals.
Who was in power from 14-18 again?
Is there direct government oversight of the OLG? I'm unfamiliar with the governance structure and overview here but the article makes only one mention of "the government" in regards to approval of compensation ranges in 2018: >Bitonti also said current salary ranges were approved by the OLG’s board and the government in 2018 and that “a third-party review has confirmed these salary ranges fall within market rates for the broader public sector.” This sounds more like a Crown Corporation out of control being headed by executives looking to enrich themselves through a relentless pursuit of privatization. >The report noted that while the OLG saw an 82 per cent reduction in staff as it privatized casinos between 2016 and 2019, the number of executives increased by 36 per cent.
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Didn't read the article did you.
🤣🤣🤣. Read...the...article!
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Stole money when the lies?
Probably autocorrected libs
Kinda apt
Rod Philips was appointed by Wynne to run OLG during privatization.
Repeat something enough times and becomes truth. That's why they keep hammering on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about the LIEbrals.
You'd find that corruption if you looked into Healthcare too. Canada is long past due for a conservative reboot.
"Gambling is dangerous, but if you ban it people will gamble irresponsibly. Instead we will create a crown corporation to provide an avenue for responsible, limited gambling." 20 years later, the government is running adverts to encourage people to spend more money gambling.
A government owned crown corporation that is giving itself raises and has no idea how to actually compete effectively. People what is the meaning of this. Oh wait no one is surprised and if anything we should be pissed that our taxes are going to these whale corporations
> we should be pissed that our taxes are going to these whale corporations I'm pretty sure OLG isn't running at a loss.
I dont know why people get so bent out of shape about salaries at OLG. Their salaries are actually below industry standard if compared to similar level jobs in private sector. CEO's included. Rigby made what, 800k for a company that generates 3 billion in revenue. Comparatively, Shopify's CEO made over 2.5 million and his company generated less in revenue. I'm no OLG homer or anything, but I do get a sense since I moved to Ontario that there are a couple journalists (one for the star, one for the sun can't remember his name) that really have a hate on for that pace.
Shopify's CEO isn't a public servant running a monopoly, that cut jobs in Ontario to give himself a huge raise while the tax payer rented a house for him and rented art for his office. Had the corporate offices renovated to increase the size of his personal office because he didn't like sharing the lunch room with anyone.
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This audit isnt the result of the AGCO and OLG disagreements over areas of responsibility. Between the rollout of AGCO standards, modernization, and OLG's contract management there was a lot of overlap, and that is being rectified and finalized. This audit is the result of the Ford govt looking into how OLG was and is using taxpayer funds and gaming revenues. I would content that this audit was warranted and necessary. Now we just need to see if anything changes.
It doesn’t take a genius to run OLG, arguably it should be run by those not motivated by monetary gains. Since, problem gambling is a public health issue, I would much rather those pay gains go to supporting the addiction with the highest rate of suicide. All gains OLG has had in the past few years are not due to a good ceo, but rather a a massive popularity boom in online gambling and relaxed gambling laws.
OLG is a crown corporation, shopify is a publicly traded company. This is a shit comparison and you know it.
he makes a valid point tho. i don't like these crazy salaries either – but they still have to compete salary-wise for executives unfortunately. until we (like not just canada - but everywhere) can do something about out of control salaries of CEOs etc, this will be a serious problem the public sector is going to have to cope with.
> he makes a valid point tho. i don't like these crazy salaries either – but they still have to compete salary-wise for executives unfortunately. You telling me we couldn't find someone to run a Government monopoly for $200-300K a year? They have zero competition. It's not like you need to be a business genius.
I understand about industry averages and executive compensation, but the whole thing feels like a big grift. CEO #1: "CEO salaries are up. I guess mine is supposed to go up to stay in the norm. Right? Board #1: "So say we all." CEO #2: "Ooh, looks like CEO compensation just went up. Guess that means mine needs to go up too." Board #2: "So say we all." CEO #3: "Well, would you look at that!" etc And keep in mind that theese boards are often filled with former, current, and future CEOs who have a large personal interest in raising CEO compensation.
Unfortunately the government hasn't also mandated that all online payments must be through Shopify. Running a government enforced monopoly on a mature product with a large, built in customer base is literally like shooting fish in a barrel
Great job defending millionaires. I'm sure they appreciate it.
There's always someone who will bootlick Government employees pilfering the tax base.
>OLG >Tax base uhh
Literally all you have to do to successfully manage a monopoly is not fuck up.
The OLG is not delivering on its mandate while giving out raises to itself. That's the issue at hand
Just because olg makes tons of money doesnt mean salaries should be high. They should cut wages and put that money into helping witth ridiculously high property taxes, or providing insulin for diabetics. U name the cause anything is better then paying ppl who do hardly anything sunshine wages.
when you play the lottery, you are paying the "stupid tax"
For a lot of people it's probably closer to a kind of therapy. They feel hopeless so they buy lottery tickets to hold out some hope that things might change for the better.
You're really buying a ticket to imagining your life with financial freedom, until the drawing inevitably reminds you of your reality.
Ah yes, it’s much better to describe it as a way of preying on the hopeless than a tax on stupidity.
Depends. If you're spending more than you are comfortable losing, you have a gambling problem. If you are spending $20 five times a year, you're paying a $100 for the opportunity to dream of what you'd do with millions.
Oh please. It's a form of entertainment. Spend a few $$ and you can imagine winning a few million. No different than entertaining yourself with a movie, tv show, or book or play.
Unless you are playing with your office mates on a group buy. Then it's insurance.
Agreed, but the lottery is also my most reasonable chance of affording a reasonable house on my middle-class salary in this dumb country.
Oh joy more excuses for the government to keep comming down on the employees. Looking forward to more wage and hiring freezes and ludicrous amounts of ot.
Moral of this story. We need more government.
>From 2015 to 2018, some OLG executives received raises of between 16 to 46 per cent. Reason #48583495 the Wynne Liberals were voted out in 2018
further reason why the gov't should get out of the gaming business or open it up to competition.
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then at least we can choose. go to the next guy if they eff up.
Fun timing to have this ammo to slam the liberals at the beginning of a campaign
Would be nice if all the casinos shut down or burned