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HEADLINE: Halifax universities say no to poker games with tuition in the pot
Body:
The Cape Breton University Students’ Union is endorsing a poker website that has students play to win money for tuition, but two universities in Halifax aren’t following suit.
No money is put up front, but students at CBU register and play in poker tournaments to win tuition money or bursaries.
Chris MacDougall, students’ union president at Saint Mary’s University, said he wouldn’t support a similar site on his campus.
“I think our focus would be less on endorsing programs like that and more advocating for students and accessibility,” he said.
He defended CBU by saying they’re targeting students who are already playing poker, only now they can play to achieve a purpose instead of playing to pass the time.
CBU Students’ Union president Matt Stewart could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Saint Mary’s University is planning a two-day awareness campaign on several issues — including gambling — but McDougall said gambling isn’t a problem there.
“I’ve never heard any specific stories of students gambling to try to make tuition,” he said. “It was something mentioned by Student Services that gambling is something on the rise in the province, not necessarily on our campus.”
According to the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, young adults have the highest risk of developing gambling problems, and they often begin gambling between 10 and 19 years of age.
Gambling doesn’t seem to be much of a problem at Dalhousie University either, said Courtney Larkin, Dalhousie Student Union president.
“We take a strong stand on gambling,” she said. “We don’t allow any poker tournaments in the building or anything like that.”
Some of her friends go out to the casino on occasion, but they’re not doing so in the hopes of paying for university costs, she added.
“I don’t believe our students’ union would want us to be encouraging our students to gamble for (tuition),” she said.
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