December 21, 2007 Kamloops This Week
Fearing that new provincial smoking regulations will slash bingo revenues at the Chances Gaming Centre, its owners have asked city council to allow up to 25 new slot machines into their Halston Avenue business. In 2004, Kamloops councillors restricted the number of slot machines at the gaming centre to 50. The gaming centre has 586 seats reserved for bingo, half of which are reserved for smokers. Marsha Walden, vice-president of bingo gaming for the B.C. Lottery Corporation, said Ontario bingo halls lost up to 35 per cent in business after that province introduced new smoking regulations a few years ago. A public hearing next year will precede any decision by council on the slot-machine request.Walden said the downtown casino in the Executive Inn is drawing up its own expansion plans, noting she doesn’t know whether that plan will include a larger number of slot machines.
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Don Quixote Note: It appears that Vernon Council neglected to limit the number of slot machines at a particular location. Therefor it appears it can not use the substantial change clause below. However Clause 13 of the gaming act is available and the City can move to limit the number of slots at any particular location or in total as some Cities have done. This was overlooked in the past but Council should pass a resolution ASAP to ensure the leverage of Council in the future.
12 For the purposes of the Act, "substantial change", in relation to the type or extent of lottery schemes or horse racing at a gaming facility includes
(a) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 60/2003, s. 2.]
(b) adding bingo events at the gaming facility if bingo events are not currently conducted there,
(c) adding casino gaming at a gaming facility if casino gaming is not currently conducted there,
(d) adding horse racing, other than teletheatres, at a gaming facility if horse racing is not currently conducted there, and
(e) adding slot machines at the gaming facility if it is currently without slot machines.
(f) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 60/2003, s. 2.]
http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/G/208_2002.htm#section12
Limit on number of slot machines
13.1 The lottery corporation must get approval from the host local government before increasing the number of slot machines at a gaming facility beyond a maximum limit presently established by that host local government in a form referred to in section 13 (a).
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