By Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM
The city of Vernon is getting closer to joining a partnership that encourages responsible gambling. Paul Smith from the BC Lottery Corporation outlined the program to city council on Monday. He told the Kiss FM, the alliance between the BCLC, gaming operators and municipalities, is a way to get the word out about help for problem gamblers."This is not about dealing with problem gambling per se. It's an effort to try and expand our awareness program in the community and we believe we can do that better with community support and involvement. Problem gamblers need to get the help that's available, and there is lots of of help available through the provincially-funded, free counseling services, through the help line. But what we can do now, is be a lot more proactive in how were getting the message out about what gambling really is and hopefully that will mitigate some of the development of problem gambling."
The city would get $50,000 from the BCLC to use for a community purpose once it joins the partnership but Smith didn't know if that was a one time amount or annual. Councillor Barry Beardsell wants clarification on the funding but still has a number of questions about the process. He also has concerns about the amount of money being spent at the local Lake City Casino. "218 million dollars is what has been lost by the players since the casino came in to the Village Green (Hotel) nine years ago." He says the amount returned to the city and paid to the casino workers over that time is a "pittance" in comparison. Beardsell would like to see the Lottery Corp provide more gaming revenue to help groups like the O'Keefe Ranch, and the Schubert Centre.
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