The British Columbia Lottery Commission has recently embarked on a cross-province tour in order to find out what locals think about the current scheme for distributing gambling revenues. The tour recently hit BC’s capital, Victoria, where community organizations asked for a greater share of the revenues generated by British Columbia’s land-based and online gambling operations.
In order to function, many of the charities across British Columbia rely on funds donated from casinos and other gambling venues. While gambling revenues previously generated a great deal of funding for community organizations, recent cutbacks have caused these groups to suffer financially.
In 1999, a new law declared that one-third of gambling revenues would be spent on funding charities and other community groups. However, last year, only 12% was allocated to these causes, a significantly lower amount than was previously agreed upon. Now, community groups in Victoria want to voice their opinions on the matter.
At the review, more than 20 community groups stepped forward, providing reasons why they should receive more funding from gambling revenues. They hope their pleas have made an impact on the BCLC and result in more funding from this year on.
