P.E.I. is considering a move to grab piece of an estimated $50-million market for online gambling in the region.

P.E.I. Finance Minister Wes Sheridan said security for gamblers is an important consideration and estimates Atlantic Canadians are wagering up to $50 million a year at offshore gaming websites. (CBC)

Finance Minister Wes Sheridan told CBC News Thursday the government may have little choice. He said many Islanders are already gambling on risky, unregulated sites outside Canada.

"What we're looking at, and what [Atlantic Lottery Corporation] has proposed, is to go forward and put a site up there to compete with these offshore entities and play in a regulated, policed kind of fashion," said Sheridan.

The issue of bringing online gambling to the region is a hot one. The Nova Scotia government has come under fire for even considering the idea.

Sheridan estimates Atlantic Canadians are gambling $50 million a year on offshore websites. He said having a regional site would mean the dollars would help pay for things such as health care and education.

Sheridan could not comment on security measures to keep young people or problem gamblers off the site.

"I don't know what those limits are that Atlantic Lotto will come back to us with," he said.

"That's the most important part of what we'll be putting forward as a product, is the regulation around how much you can play, what games you can play, and who can play them. And that's the part we're very interested in controlling."

Sheridan said cabinet will have the final say on whether Islanders will be able to gamble on a regional site. As for when that decision might be made, the province first wants to get a closer look at ALC's proposal.