Liberals counting on revenue from the desperate B.C. Lottery Corp. allotted $347m in budget, sets sights on making more from Internet games

By Ethan Baron, The ProvinceMarch 4, 2010

Squeeze 'em when they're down: That's the goal of massive gambling spending announced in the provincial budget. With the B.C. Lottery Corp. falling below its revenue targets because of the recession, the Liberals have handed it a $347-million jackpot. The Crown corporation will spend this third-of-a-billion dollars on infrastructure and technology over three years, according to BCLC's public-affairs office. The government's gambling company says in its current operating plan that, in 2008-09, gaming revenue, at $1.1 billion, fell $19 million below target but was still up $1.8 million over the previous fiscal year. "While the gaming industry is expected to recover as the economy improves, BCLC is anticipating consumer confidence and spending on entertainment will lag behind the overall economic recovery," BCLC chairman John McLernon and CEO Michael Graydon write in the plan's introduction. The document says British Columbians are "arguably in the worst economic situation since the Great Depression" and notes "the negative impact the economy is having on our business." The take-home message: When people are desperately struggling to make ends meet, get as much of their money as possible. A billion-plus in gambling loot is simply not enough.

For 2008-09, the $1.1-billion net revenue breaks down as $253 million from lotteries, $3.7 million from Internet gambling, $758 million from casinos and $76.2 million from bingo and community gaming.

"It is troubling, when you have a government that relies as much as this one does on things like gambling as a revenue source," says NDP gambling critic Shane Simpson. "To have a strategy that relies on it and, in fact, tries to expand and exploit it as the B.C. Liberals have, raises serious questions about the moral compass here." The heavy focus on the government's "PlayNow" Internet gambling program is even more troubling. More than 100,000 people are registered on PlayNow, according to BCLC. "Creating a successful e-gaming business is a strategic priority for BCLC," the operating plan says. "Steady growth continues in this channel." That growth is fuelled by last year's decision to raise the weekly individual PlayNow gambling limit to $9,999 from $120. Government documents forecast a $50-million profit from e-gambling over the next three years.

Of particular concern is the fact that Internet use is highest among young people. And lest you think PlayNow is not targeted at young British Columbians, the site's "interactive games" section is accessed through a panel full of cartoon characters. Slot machines dispensing lollipops can't be far behind. To be sure, the government is so keen to expand gambling -- in spite of coming into office on a promise not to do so -- because it puts so much money into provincial coffers. But the huge spending announced in the budget, combined with the new focus on Internet gambling, smacks of exploitation of the desperate, and the young.