Gambling addicts play Russian roulette while shameless government cashes in

Alan Ferguson, The Province : Thursday, May 08, 2008

The B.C. government has the cheek of the devil when it comes to gambling in this province. Personally, I don't give two hoots if people want to chance their future on the roll of the dice. It's a free country. But what I do object to are politicians and bureaucrats putting on a fanciful charade as our social guardians. For years, Gordon Campbell's Liberals have been fattening the public treasury with casino revenues. Never mind that they came into office pledging that the spread of legal gambling would be contained. No one expects politicians to keep promises -- particularly when, by abandoning them, rich new sources of money can be tapped. And that the Liberals have certainly done. Gaming revenues have doubled since they came to power and are expected to reach a staggering $1.2 billion by 2010-11. That's more than the government will take in through corporate income taxes. Think about it! Folks in B.C. go willingly to the tax slaughter, it must be admitted. Richmond's River Rock Casino attracts 10,000 customers daily.And a lot of people find jobs. A report by the Canadian Gaming Association estimated the industry pays the wages of more than 16,000 B.C.ers. And don't forget the share of the bonanza that trickles down to municipalities, helping offset pressures on property and business taxes. So it's a good deal all round, then? Everybody's a winner.

Except the losers.The government pretends that its research shows no increase in problem gambling during the past decade. But there's clear evidence that the viral spread of slot machines across the province -- there are now more than 6,000 -- has encouraged an ever greater number of gamblers to squander their cash. Gaming officials from the B.C. Lottery Corporation spout a lot of bloated hypocrisy about why people gamble. They don't do it to win, it's claimed. They spend hours toiling at the tables just for the "fun" of it. But I can't imagine it's much fun when your obsession is so powerful you sit there in diapers so as not to be interrupted by calls of nature. We are constantly told, of course, that problem gamblers are few. Why then the need to employ "responsible gambling information officers?" The government plans to install these functionaries in every casino in the province. Even supposing they had the power to yank problem gamblers from their seats, it would be an infringement of civil liberties. But they don't. The most they can do is give advice when asked -- as if any self-respecting punter would ever seek it. Don't believe a word of the official patter that these officers will provide "early intervention" aimed at "preventing" future problems. Their appointment is mere window-dressing, a sop to anti-gambling activists and a transparent ploy to put a legitimate gloss on a sneaky and exploitative tax-raising scam.