Kings West MLA Leo Glavine said Wednesday that Finance Minister Graham Steele’s public comments on the issue have all but confirmed an on online expansion for Nova Scotia.

"We feel that the decision has been made by the NDP and now Minister Steele is on spin cycle trying to sell online gambling to Nova Scotians," Glavine said.

Steele has said the Dexter government’s position on getting into Internet gambling will be part of the new gaming strategy slated for release this fall.

But the minister said last week that he doesn’t favour bans as a rule and was on CBC Radio on Wednesday morning describing why the province would get into online gambling.

Thousands of Nova Scotians already play unregulated gambling sites that don’t offer the responsible gambling features and resources for getting help that a government site would, Steele said.

"For those who say that the government shouldn’t be there, I just say, I cannot consider it to be responsible to leave problem gamblers to the mercy of illegal unregulated offshore gambling sites, many of which are thought to be fronts for organized crime. Why is that the right answer?" Steele said on the radio.

"I think, as a government that is responsible under the Criminal Code of Canada for gambling policy, our responsibility is to be there and to bring our resources to that task."

Steele wasn’t available for an interview Wednesday afternoon, said Finance Department spokeswoman Valerie Bellefontaine. She said the Dexter government hasn’t yet made a decision on expanding Internet gambling.

The Atlantic Lottery Corp. has been investigating options for more online gambling in the Atlantic region as part of its business plan. It estimates that $50 million leaves the region through online gambling.

The corporation had a TV commercial shot in Halifax last week that included online poker, said a source familiar with the ad. Corporation spokeswoman Jennifer Dalton confirmed in an email that an ad was shot but wouldn’t provide details of the content.

Atlantic Lottery also has an agreement with British Columbia and Quebec to share a platform for online poker. Those two provinces have already announced plans to launch the game.The corporation will also be prepared to offer more sports betting options if the Atlantic provinces want.

Late last year, it awarded a $2.5-million, three-year contract to Orbis Technology of London, England. The company has since been renamed OpenBet.

Corporation spokeswoman Paula Dyke said in a recent interview that the intent of the contract was to upgrade the technology used in sports betting online and at retail outlets, but the upgrade would also allow a future expansion.

The upgrade is expected to be complete in mid-2011, she said.

Nova Scotia could direct the lottery corporation to expand its online offerings, which now give players the chance to buy lottery tickets and play interactive games, in this province, regardless of whether New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador do the same.

No province has said publicly that it will allow more online gambling.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams has said he doesn’t support it for his province.

British Columbia launched online casino-style gambling last month. The site was shut down after a few hours because some players could see other players’ personal information. The site was back up last week.

Ontario has announced it will offer online gambling in 2012.

There are more than 2,000 Internet gambling sites. Some experts are skeptical government-run sites would attract players from them.

The number of Internet gamblers in Nova Scotia is unknown. A 2007 gambling prevalence study commissioned by the province found just 1.6 per cent of adults surveyed had tried online gambling.

Glavine said the Liberals oppose government-run online gambling.