BC - Gambling already here in other addictive forms
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Source: MetroValley Newspaper Group
Published: Dec 10, 06
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ABBOTSFORD – Abbotsford city councillors should make themselves familiar with the case of Leticia Villareal. The Arizona grandmother made headlines across the U.S. this week when she was busted with 214 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of her car. The 61-year-old was a bingo addict whose welfare cheque could not keep up to her dependence on dabbing, and soon found herself taking such desperate action. West Virginia’s June Skavinsky is now on parole, and part of her rehabilitation is counselling others about bingo addiction. At the height of her problem she played 72 cards per game and lost about $300 to $500 per night. She was convicted of embezzling $250,000 from her employer, a law firm. Bingo is gambling, and can be addictive. It is also legal, socially acceptable, and has long been a popular source of entertainment for many people. The exact same things can be said of slot machines - legal, socially acceptable and entertaining for many people. Abbotsford’s long-running bingo hall will apparently go out of business without the benefit of slot machines and other new games and services which are part of a Community Gaming Centre. The Abbotsford Bingo Association and Playtime Community Gaming Centres are proposing that the hall be converted to a Community Gaming Centre, and that issue is now before council. The next step is to get public input, and that will happen in the new year. There will undoubtedly be at least some opposition to the proposed slots, but those who are lighting their torches and taking up their pitchforks should realize that a community gaming centre is not the same as a casino. They should also be aware that there are 75 groups in this community who share in $2.4 million in gaming revenue from the bingo hall, including many social groups like Big Brothers, and sporting associations like the Valley Royals track club. And those who oppose slots must realize that they can do nothing to stop those few people who have problems with gambling from driving 20 minutes to a casino in Langley, or one that is being built just across the border near Sumas. Some see all gambling as immoral, but it is not up to our city council to slay that dragon.
