The B.C. Lottery Corporation has released its interim annual
report on the statistics surrounding gambling in B.C. Locally, the Vernon Lake City Casino recorded $28,540,144 in revenue, up slightly more than $3.1 million from last year. From that total, $27,109,534 was generated through the casino’s 210 slot machines and the remainder from eight table games. "I can’t really attribute the growth to anything in particular, just a growth in the market," said Steve Kumpf, vice president of Okanagan operations for Gateway Casinos, the parent company of the Lake City Casino chain. "In this region we’re still seeing a large migration of people coming to retire here. Just judging by real estate prices, these people have a certain level of affluence and more disposable income," said Kumpf, who said that Vernon’s casino averages between 300-400 visitors a day.The success of the casino means that the city of Vernon will receive $1,763,005 as their share of revenue for the period of April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007. "It’s an industry that some like and some do not," said Coun. Patrick Nicol, "but it has created a lot of revenue for city infrastructure."Nicol said that the money generated from gaming has gone exclusively to road infrastructure for the past six years. "Without that revenue we would never have been able to do the 25th Ave. project."
However, Nicol was worried that numerous community groups that rely on gaming revenue would be short changed as gambling trends changed and less people played bingo, the area of gaming that the groups currently receive revenue from. "We need to know more about gaming expansion especially if that adversely impacts Bingo, which gives millions to community groups each year," said Nicol. Nicol also said that the province must ensure that problem gambling support services were properly funded, as the gaming revenue did not come without a human cost, something that Paul Tessier, a problem gambling councilor in Venon, has seen first hand. "They say that 4.6 per cent of the general population has a problem with gambling," said Tessier, noting that the majority of people his organization deals with have problems with slot machines.
"It can be a huge escape from everyday problems. Some people use gambling almost as a medication." Tessier said that one of the main signs that a person has a gambling problem is an increasing preoccupation with gambling. "It will not only take up more money but more time and energy. Time spent gambling, thinking about gambling, worrying about gambling, trying to cover up the gambling. People will disregard the negative consequences. We see a lot of relationships in trouble; people with depression, worried about the debts. It’s really hard on people and their families." Tessier said that people who felt they had a gambling problem or were affected by a family member or spouse with a gambling problem should contact 1-888-795-6111 and they would be referred to the nearest councillor who could help them.
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