Online Gambling B.C.Canada's New Revenue Generator

Published: Monday, September 14, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

"No new casinos," Gordon Campbell told a newspaper reporter in 1999, back when he was in opposition and the New Democratic Party government had embarked on a disastrous casino-licensing binge, one that led to police raids and the resignation of then-premier Glen Clark. That was only a decade ago and now the windfall from casino gambling in British Columbia, Canada has exceeded 1 billion dollars this year.

"We don't want an economy based on losers," Mr. Campbell said back then, "There will be no further expansion of gambling. We'll try to reduce it."

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation for the 24th consecutive year has shown a massive profit. In order to keep that winning streak happening the officials in the British Columbian government have decided it's time to offer casino gaming on the internet. An updated two-year service plan released this month by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation stated that, "Casino and lottery targets have been revised downward," This is due to various factors that explain the downturn in lottery and casino revenues, such as the harmonized sales tax and the general economic slowdown. There was a $19 million dollar shortfall in projected returns for this year. "To mitigate the negative impact ... BCLC is focused on revenue generation initiatives," Chief Executive Officer and the agency's president, Michael Graydon, commented.

Kevin Gass, BCLC's vice-president, corporate affairs, said, "We know that some bettors were taking a pass and not wagering, because the limit was way too low," In a bold new move the corporation has increased the wagering limit for registered players to an astronomical $9,999 per week. This is a significant increase from previous weekly account transfers of just $120. It is not hard to understand why the provincial government is making these sorts of decisions. The economy is in trouble and the politicians have seen how easy it is to generate income from gambling. Going online is the next logical step in a wired world where the demographic is younger and the rewards greater. It is going to be interesting to see how this story develops and how much opposition the move will get from those who just don't agree with the idea.