ABC councillors vote to loosen Vancouver's gambling moratorium

The Parq Casino opened in downtown Vancouver in 2017.

Vancouver's ruling ABC party has voted to loosen the city's long-standing moratorium on gambling expansions – against the recommendation of health officials, and despite calls to wait and gather feedback from the public.

ABC councillors Mike Klassen, Lisa Dominato, Rebecca Bligh, Peter Meiszner and Lenny Zhou approved a staff recommendation Wednesday to welcome new applications from the B.C. Lottery Corporation to increase the number of slot machines and gaming tables available at the Parq Casino and Hastings Racecourse.

The amended moratorium – which previously barred council from even considering such applications – still prevents the construction of any new casinos within city limits.

"In my eyes this is a really modest expansion within an existing footprint," Meiszner said ahead of the vote. "We're not talking about adding new casinos, we're not talking about expanding buildings, we're just literally talking about adding a few more machines in an empty part of the casino."

But critics were not convinced, including ABC's Sarah Kirby-Yung, who expressed serious hesitations about going forward with the proposal.

Kirby-Yung noted the staff report – which was prepared at the urging of the BCLC – estimated the city's share of annual gambling revenue would increase as much as $5 million if the venues were to be expanded. That would be roughly 70 per cent more than Vancouver made from the Parq and Hastings Racecourse combined in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

"I don't think it's just a few more slots," Kirby-Yung said. "Just based on kind of simple math."

While the BCLC prepared the revenue estimate for the staff report, the Crown corporation did not reveal how many additional slot machines or gambling tables would be required to generate that increase.

Community harms

Council heard from Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, Vancouver's medical health officer, who recommended that the previous moratorium be left in place – stating plainly that increased gambling revenue also means "increased harm to the population."

"Gambling disorder is a recognized mental illness. It's associated with poor mental health – things like stress, anxiety, depression and even suicide," Lysyshyn said at the meeting. "It leads to financial difficulties such as debt, bankruptcy, poverty (as well as) disrupted familial relations, marital problems, separation, divorce."

While research suggests only around 3.3 per cent of gamblers in the province develop an addiction, the doctor warned that even recreational gambling can cause serious issues for "families and communities."

OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle and Green councillors Adriane Carr and Pete Fry voted against the proposal, while Kirby-Yung missed the vote to take a phone call. Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Coun. Brian Montague were absent.

Fry also questioned the legality of altering the 2011 moratorium, which states that it "shall be in effect" until the B.C. government and BCLC undertake "comprehensive public consultation on the issue of expanded gambling" in Vancouver, specifically.

Jeff Greenberg, legal counsel for the city, suggested because the moratorium is not being lifted entirely, council was free to accept staff's recommended amendment.

Carr still called on officials to gather more feedback from constituents before rushing the proposal through, however, pointing out council held eight days and nights of public hearings before putting the moratorium in place 13 years ago.

"Imagine what that tells you about the importance of this issue to the public," she said. "People were very concerned about the health impacts."

'Hard to get a machine'

Lara Gerrits spoke on behalf of the BCLC, and argued that much has changed since the moratorium was enacted – including the city's population, which has grown by upwards of 20 per cent.

"If you go Parq after a concert or a Canucks game or a Vancouver Warriors game, it's really hard to get a machine there," she said.

There are currently 600 slot machines and 61 gambling tables at the Parq, plus another 446 slot machines at Hastings Racecourse. The BCLC indicated it would like to see the latter venue expanded to offer table games as well.

Gerrits said the expansion would help keep gambling revenue within the city, telling council 67 per cent of Vancouver residents' spending is "currently flowing to other Lower Mainland facilities."

Under the amended moratorium, council will still debate applications individually – and staff said Vancouver Coastal Health and the Vancouver Police Department will offer feedback on proposals as well.

Police had no specific concerns around the recommendation to amend the moratorium, council heard.