The City of Kamloops is looking for ways in which it could boost its city coffers with gaming revenue, a situation that requires more flexibility, as well as brand new arrangements. Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian recently confirmed that the city has commenced a conversation with the British Columbia government regarding bagging a percentage of the online gaming revenue locals generate.
Right now online gaming is widely popular across the province of British Columbia, as well as across Canada. Players are advised to practice social distancing and explore the gaming offerings available online. They are powered by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and are available on its premium online platform called PlayNow.com. The gaming revenue generated via online gaming is considerable.
City Commenced Convo
Municipalities across the province have their brick-and-mortar casino locations shut down and no gaming revenue flows into the city coffers. This interferes with the larger projects on a local level, as well as the budget set in stone earlier this year. Kamloops officials want to see the online revenue distributed across the province of British Columbia now that brick-and-mortar casino venues are not welcoming patrons on a daily basis.
Coun. Arjun Singh was the first to talk on the subject making it clear that many Kamloops locals currently gamble online and fuel the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. They have more free time on their hands and this allows them to explore the online gaming offerings the Crown corporation has up for grabs. The online gaming revenue could end up supporting their local communities, as Coun. Singh made it clear in April.
British Columbia’s Attorney General’s office made it clear that the change must be formally requested by the municipalities interested in bagging a percent of the revenue in question. Then both parties have to approve the new arrangement. Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian is currently engaging in this milestone conversation with the provincial government.
Casinos and Gambling Halls
Brick-and-mortar casinos and gambling halls to the likes of Cascades in Aberdeen, Chances in Brocklehurst, Cascades Casino Kamloops, and Chances Casino Kamloops are expected to be the last businesses to relaunch operation in the summer months of 2020. They would have to implement various measures promoting social distancing and protecting the health of patrons frequenting them.
The preparation period ahead of the reopening is expected to take longer than the quick shutdown mid-March. Kamloops is eligible for a 10 percent of the gaming revenue of the casino hotspots in the municipality. Kamloops solely bagged some CA$2.5 million over the course of the 2018/2019 fiscal year. Projections are that the city coffers would experience a strong hit when the next casino revenue allocation makes its way.
The upcoming four months are expected to bring loss of about CA$2 million now that the two casinos are closed for business. Some of the local projects that have been postponed are the second construction phase of McArthur Island community park, infrastructural work on Victoria Street, as well as work related to the museum facility. Casino cash was also supposed to support renovation work on the Old Courthouse.
