Government 'addicted to gambling'

By Kent Spencer, The Province Monday, April 14, 2008

A bid to bring slot machines to a Surrey bingo hall is part of an effort to create mini-casinos across B.C., says an anti-gambling group. "Government is addicted to gambling," says Bill Chu, founder of Multicultural Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. Bingo halls are being re-equipped with slots all over the province, Chu said yesterday."You could call them junior casinos. The government is adding 100 slots here, 100 there. It's getting crazy." Boardwalk Gaming and Entertainment wants to put 75 to 150 slot machines in its bingo hall at 7093 King George Highway in Surrey's Newton area."The goal is to maintain bingo as the marquee game and add a variety of additional entertainment options that will attract new customers," said Boardwalk president Jordan Gnat. "Modern bingo centres do not have table games and are limited to a maximum of 150 slot machines."

The B.C. Lottery Corp. calls the proposed facility a community gaming centre, not a casino. But Chu said the term is "really immaterial" because the government is relying more and more on revenue from gaming operations that contain slot machines. "Bingo games don't create wealth for the government," he said. "Slot machines are the real killer [in terms of generating revenues]." Of the $2.4 billion in revenue generated by the B.C. Lottery Corp. in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, the province's net income was about $1 billion. B.C. government budget figures project that its gaming revenue will reach $1.201 billion by 2010-11, exceeding the $1.193 billion generated by corporate income taxes.

"The tax burden is being shifted from corporations to the little people who gamble," Chu said. And he said Surrey residents "should be upset" at Boardwalk's plan to turn its bingo hall into a mini-casino because casinos attract gamblers and "Surrey has its own social problems already." As of March 31, 2007, there were 6,161 slot machines provincewide. The Richmond casino, with 908 slots, was the top revenue-earner for the fiscal year at $233 million. The Burnaby casino (676 slots) earned $165 million, the Coquitlam casino (939 slots) $158 million and the Langley casino (530 slots) $115 million. Surrey's only existing casino is at the Fraser Downs Racetrack in Cloverdale, which has 403 slots. Last year it generated $52 million, seventh best in the province. Boardwalk has submitted a rezoning application with Surrey to add slots to its bingo hall. City staff are reviewing the proposal but have yet to submit it to council, where it must receive preliminary approval before passing to the public-hearing stage.

If the project is approved, construction would take 10 months, beginning this fall. With slots, the bingo hall's workforce would almost double to about 60 people. Boardwalk has redeveloped bingo centres in Burnaby and Mission in the past three years. A Squamish project is also on tap. As of last year, there were five bingo halls in B.C. equipped with slots. Last week, Delta council said it has no objections to the "substantial changes" being proposed by Boardwalk for its Surrey hall. Delta's input was required under Lottery Corp. rules, which stipulate that a municipality within five kilometres of a proposed gaming facility must be consulted. A recent report by the Canadian Gaming Association said the industry directly employs 16,403 workers in B.C. The report said gambling is one of the largest entertainment industries in Canada, with countrywide revenues of $14.6 billion. "It is larger than television and movie rentals," the study said.