By JOE MILLICAN Abbotsford News Oct 18 2007
Backers of a bid to install up to 125 slot machines in Abbotsford’s bingo hall have hit the jackpot, thanks to a decision by civic politicians that will see the controversial contraptions introduced to B.C.’s fifth-largest city. Abbotsford’s mayor and council voted 6-3 in support of the application at their Monday night meeting, a ruling that allows the local bingo hall to transform itself into a community gaming centre. The decision means that, as part of an extensive overhaul, 50 slot machines will initially be installed in the bingo hall’s current base at 30835 Peardonville Rd. That number could increase to 125 depending on their popularity.
Voting in favour of the proposal by the Abbotsford Bingo Association and Playtime Community Gaming Centres were Mayor George Ferguson and councillors John Smith, Bruce Beck, Christine Caldwell, Moe Gill and Patricia Ross. Voting against were councillors Dave Loewen, Lynne Harris and Simon Gibson. Since the application was first brought before council in June 2006, bingo hall staff have stressed that the facility would close without additional revenue from slots. By keeping the business open, it now ensures that the 71 not-for-profit groups that currently rely on cash from the bingo hall will continue to receive their handouts. Art Villa, Playtime’s co-ordinator of business development, said work on the bingo hall revamp will likely start early next year. “It’s been a long gestation period but we are happy with the results,” Villa said, after the meeting in Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. “There’s a great sense of relief. There was a year and a half . . . but thankfully the time was not wasted from our point of view. They (residents) are now going to have some different gaming opportunities that they haven’t had in Abbotsford before.” Jim Hume, president of the Abbotsford Bingo Association, said he was “very pleased” on behalf of the 71 charities. “It’s a relief. I agree with both sides of the story, but for the charity organizations, I am very pleased the vote came out this way,” he said.
Abbotsford Families United president Trish Kolsto was far less enthused. “We have commissioned two polls that show the majority of Abbotsford voters are against the slots. By voting yes, they (council) have ignored the majority,” she said. “Our hope was to get the word out there and show that it’s not the way Playtime wants to make it look.” According to Kolsto, the new slot machines will bring social and economic problems, as well as an increase in bankruptcy cases. And while she said Abbotsford Families United will now turn its attention to crime and other issues, she admitted the slot machine fight is over. “Council voted so there’s really nothing else we can do,” she added. Speaking in support of the proposal, Mayor George Ferguson said “we have to recognize we are a big city now.” “We live in a democracy and the federal government recognizes that gambling is legal,” he said. “There is not anybody here suggesting you have to go to the bingo hall, a casino or anywhere else. That’s all part of democracy, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.” To aid the transition, Ferguson proposed that some of the revenue from the bingo hall, that will go to the city, should be spent on programs to assist the addicted. Like casinos, municipalities receive 10 per cent of the net revenue from slot machines. Christine Caldwell said “help is out there” for people who need it. She also called on the operators of the bingo hall to keep a close eye on people who may be gambling too much. “A lot of it for me was about choice, about opportunities,” she said. “This gives citizens a choice of what type of entertainment they would like to take part in.”
John Smith said he was “reluctantly” supporting the application. “The reality is gambling is quite legal in our society . . . gambling is everywhere and that’s a reality,” he said, pointing out that gambling addictions are not restricted to slot machines. According to Smith, a vote against the application would “doom” the bingo hall and have potential financial implications on the groups that currently receive cash. Bruce Beck asked city staff at the meeting to type the words “online slots” into an internet search engine. That term uncovered close to 1.9 million hits. “There are 1.9 million opportunities for every resident of Abbotsford to engage in the convenience of slot machines in their own homes,” he said. Beck asked what would give somebody with a potential addictive personality more incentive: to dress up and drive across town to the bingo hall, or to stay at home and gamble from their own computer. “The effects can best be compared to alcohol abuse. Some drink alcohol to excess, but we don’t ban pubs and restaurants, and we don’t deny citizens the right to have a glass of wine with their meal because there is somebody in the community who can’t hold their liquor,” he said. Beck said council must apply the same standards to the bingo hall application as it does to any other application, no matter how “distasteful” that may seem.
“I vote reluctantly, remorsefully but unavoidably in favour of the motion,” he said. Ross said she “could not understand” why people play slot machines. “But I don’t understand people who jump out of a perfectly good airplane, either,” she said. “Part of the issue for me is a matter of choice.” Ross said there is a difference between slot machines and a casino. “And this may be a way to test the waters,” she added. Moe Gill believed that life is a gamble. “I am a farmer and I gamble every day,” he said, pointing to changing demographics and the “different mindset” that some people now have. “We have to move into a position that allows everybody in a municipality to enjoy themselves however they wish to. There will be an increased social issue, but . . . I will be supporting this – if not with a 100 per cent satisfied mind.”
Dave Loewen spoke passionately against the proposal. He said the 71 community groups that rely on cash from the bingo hall would still be able to access gambling-related grants from the province, regardless of whether the Abbotsford bingo hall stays open or not. Loewen said he would prefer to focus on the social and economic factors. “We, as a group of adults here, are gambling with the future of our young people,” he said. “It’s a huge social cost potentially. The indications are it could very well happen and what we are doing is gambling that it won’t happen. How are we going to address these social costs when they do happen?” Simon Gibson “implored and pleaded” with council to defeat the motion, “I think it’s tragic this targets people at the bottom end of the socio-economic level. I am not saying I am better than they are, I am just saying ‘why should we as a council perpetrate that?’ “All the money through bingo is being generated by losers . . .This to me is one of the most significant votes we can have on our council. It’s not just a case of a few slot machines – it’s much deeper than that.”
Lynne Harris acknowledged that slot machines are a “very emotional issue for a lot of people.” She also said there was obvious “angst” among councillors to make the correct decision. “I don’t want to see charities and schools compromised to raise money, and I think it’s appalling that we as a society are going down a road where we are going to be basing our revenue source on gambling,” she said. “I’m not sure the slot machines will do everything those opposed say they will, but I think this is a dangerous road to go down.” Abbotsford’s community gaming centre will join 12 other similar facilities, including one in Mission, that already exist in B.C.
These gaming centres were introduced by the provincial government to reenergize a struggling bingo industry. The community gaming centre in Abbotsford will only be open to adults and will not serve alcohol.
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EDITORIAL OCT 18 Controversial slot decision took fortitude Abbotsford News
Abbotsford city council has made the right decision in approving the controversial slot machine application for the local bingo hall. Mayor and council were put in an almost no-win situation, and would have been criticized regardless. However, we applaud them for having the guts to see beyond the arguments of the naysayers. The 71 community groups may well have been able to access other gambling-related funding from the province, but the chance, for many, was too great to take. A number of the charities who spoke at a September public hearing were looking for the guarantee of consistent funding. By approving the bingo hall’s application, that flow of cash will keep on coming. The city could not afford to subsidize the $2.3 million that the bingo hall distributes each year. It could have therefore meant passing the bill to the public, and we could guarantee there would be a huge hue and cry from parents – regardless of their slot machine stance – who all of a sudden had to pay double the subscription for their child’s sports team.
The public had its chance to lobby council at a public hearing. And like it or not, it was the “Yes” side that came out on top. Not only did more people speak in favour of the slots, but there was a far larger “Yes” contingent sitting in the audience. Any chance the opponents had of swaying council to vote “No” died there and then. The Abbotsford Families United group conducted two subsequent polls, but council appears to have ignored these results. It would have been grossly unfair to the proponents to consider these polls in the final reckoning, particularly as the “Yes” side played by the rules and kept quiet after the public hearing. Council’s ruling will be unpopular amongst many, but we believe a degree of perspective should be applied here. There are far more critical issues in Abbotsford right now, and while a small percentage of players will no doubt become addicted to the new machines, these initial 50 or so slots will not bring the community to its knees. Help is out there for those with a problem, and for those who don’t, they now have a new form of entertainment in a municipality that has in the past been dubbed “the no fun city.” Mayor George Ferguson has acknowledged we are now a “big city,” and that will unavoidably bring with it more and more “big city issues.” Growth is inevitable. We had better get used to it.
