Gov't Still Open to Slots on Ferries Despite Dozens of Obstacles

The British Columbia government is still considering putting slot machines or other chances to gamble on BC Ferries, but has made little progress, Transportation Minister Todd Stone said.

"Nothing new to update other than to say discussions continue," said Stone, noting his ministry has been talking with BC Ferries, the BC Lotteries Corporation and the ministry of finance. "We're still working our way through all of the details of what that project could look like."

Ministry Muzzled Expert on Gambling Addictions

Senior finance ministry officials ordered an expert on gambling addictions to turn down an interview request from a Vancouver radio station.

Emails included in a response to a freedom of information request about the proposal to introduce slot machines on BC Ferries show that Surrey-based counsellor Kuldip Gill was ready to participate in the Feb. 2014 interview for the Simi Sara Show on CKNW, which is broadcast province-wide.

But when Gill checked with finance officials whether she could talk about her work with the ministry on gambling addiction, she was told to tell CKNW that the topic was outside her area of expertise.

Slots on Ferries a Complicated Bet, Warned Finance Ministry

After Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced BC Ferries' proposal to put slot machines on its vessels last year, the finance ministry began compiling a list of concerns that ranged from the need to rewrite provincial gambling laws to the likely violation of the federal criminal code.

Records released to The Tyee in response to a freedom of information request show the finance ministry had a dozen "considerations" about the Nov. 2013 proposal, and that Stone had already taken the idea to cabinet without consulting the branch of the finance ministry that regulates gambling in the province.

BC's Sinister Drive to Recruit More Gamblers

I shouldn't have been surprised when the credit card machine at the liquor store asked if I wanted to buy some lottery tickets with my cheap white wine.

The provincial government has annual targets for recruiting new gamblers and increasing people's losses.

Luring shoppers into an impulse buy at the government liquor store is just one small part of the strategy to create more, bigger losers. The same week, an ad in the Times Colonist announced the only casino in the capital region had applied for a new liquor licence. The Great Canadian Gaming casino has been allowed to serve alcohol to a maximum 132 people. Now it wants to serve drinks to up to 1,577 people, so gamblers can knock back a few cocktails as they pump money into the casino's 565 VLTs.

David Cameron must curb gambling machines or society will pay the price

We're in the grip of a new addiction – high-speed, high-stakes gambling.

What's fuelling this destructive habit is the fixed odds betting terminal (FOBT), a machine that allows people to bet £100 every 20 seconds for 13 hours a day.

These digital roulette terminals are making millions for the gambling industry, and making losers out of those who can least afford to lose.

Risky Business: On Risk and Individualism

In 2010, Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein was summoned to testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was charged with investigating the role of derivatives and other arcane investments in the 2008 economic meltdown. Still smarting from the flogging he was given by the press the previous year for boasting that the financial sector was doing “God’s work,” Blankfein adopted a more pragmatic approach in heading off calls for increased regulation and oversight. “Taking risk completely out of the system,” he warned, “will be at the cost of economic growth. We know from economic history that innovation—and the new industries and new jobs that result from it—require risk taking.”

Slots: the crack of gambling

If those pushing waterfront gambling in Toronto get their way, it’s these computerized hustlers they’ll be depending on to rake in the profits. Slot machines, with their flashing lights and dizzying array of sounds, aren’t just a big part of casinos’ allure; they’re huge money makers.

They’re also the biggest culprits associated with problem gambling. Slots have come a long way since the days of the one-armed bandit. Today’s high-tech machines are designed to deliver a gambling fix every few seconds, loaded with enough sensory triggers to literally mess with your head and keep you glued to the screen until you’ve blown all your cash. Critics don’t call them the crack cocaine of gambling for nothing.