BC - Abbotsford - Decision time on bingo hall slots plan initially includes 50 slots, growing to 125 based on popularity” (article)
Oct 16 2007, Abbotsford News
Abbotsford’s mayor and council were last night expected to make a decision on a bid to install up to 125 slot machines in the city’s bingo hall.
Five weeks after a public hearing which attracted more than 400 people, the application by the Abbotsford Bingo Association and Playtime Community Gaming Centres Inc. was on yesterday evening’s regular council agenda.
At the September public hearing, more than two-thirds of those who spoke voiced support for the plan.
There has been a greater time lapse than usual between a public hearing and a council vote, due to a decision by Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson to only discuss the matter when all council members were present.
Last night’s meeting, which occurred after press deadline, was the first opportunity to do that.
The application, if approved, would see the bingo hall on Peardonville Road revamped into a community gaming centre. It would initially include 50 slot machines, a number which could grow to 125 depending on their popularity.
Operators of the Abbotsford bingo hall say the facility will close without the additional cash. Last year, the business handed $2.3 million in revenue to local community groups.
Copyright © 2007 Abbotsford News, A Division of Black Press Group Ltd.
Listowner 0pinion - this is a very misguided decision. How much harm is going to be created in Abbotsford due to 50 or 125 slot machines being installed in a moribund bingo hall? How much is the gambling harm going to end up costing Abbotsford? Is there help for problem gamblers in place in Abbotsford now? Are there provisions to offer help for problem gamblers and their families in Abbotsford once this decision is passed?
Lots of questions. As much research with regards to the introduction of gambling, especially slots, into a community - the economic benefits often pale compared to the costs in terms of community well-being. While the introduction of gambling into a community is often promoted as an economic boom, this is seldom the case in actuality, according to existing research in this field. It is a politician’s answer to generating revenues without consideration of the possible and potential harm that is created in communities with slots and a very short-term economic solution - superficial - rather than providing long-term economic development that benefits the community without creating harm.
The creation of community gambling centres out of dying bingo halls is occuring throughout BC - I would be very wary of this development. Research indicates that the community costs of slots end up to be way more than the revenues generated in terms of fraud, family dissolution and break-up, harm to children, etc. etc.
