RSS FeedGambling for change
I know that they say politics makes strange bedfellows, but this is still pretty unusual. A liberal Canadian political website whose domain name has expired has become an online casino, so to speak.
From the National Post:
Ontarians looking to choose change today could end up gambling online.Premier McGuinty’s website — www.choosechange.ca — has apparently been cyber hijacked.
A Liberal spokesman says choosechange.ca was a campaign site and that the party no longer owns or operates the domain.
Net surfers looking to read up on the government are being redirected to a gambling website called Zodiac Casino.
Blackjack, roulette, slots and craps have taken the place of Liberal campaign promises.
Shutting down the website only triggers multiple pop-ups luring the surfer to other games of chance.
The cyber glitch comes on the same day Ontario is announcing a new responsible gambling strategy.
I love the final bite of irony in that, even as Ontario is announcing its progressive responsible gambling plan, some online casino operator is using the premier’s former address as a casino come-on. We truly live in a new and frightening world.
If you had an online casino with a generic name like “Zodiac Casino,” which domain names would you want to grab?
Posted in gambling & culture, haphazard world
April 1st, 2005 at 2:50 pm
ah, the bitter reality of canadian politics….
personaly, i find the link between gambling and the liberals is just beautiful. there is absolutely no finer twist than redirecting a government website to a casino. i would argue the games are not replacing, but rather redressing, the campaign promises. but that’s just my opinion.
but like you say, it does draw a stunning sort of contrast to government talk and government action. (do they really not own or operate the domain?)