CALGARY – A public review outlining how lottery and gaming profits should be handled will be tabled in two to three months, says an Alberta government official.
Changes in the way money is delivered back to the public are already under way. It’s part of a three-year business plan under the guidance of Steve West, minister responsible for lotteries and gaming in Alberta.
The reform stems partly from recommendations made last year by the provincial auditor-general who called for stricter management of lottery funds and the way they are distributed.
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If critical products are unavailable when needed, it could result in unnecessary human and animal deaths in the worst-case scenario.
“The lottery fund was operated as a totally separate discretionary fund where the allocations were made at the minister’s prerogative,” said Darlene Dickinson of Alberta Lotteries. Now, all funding will be funneled through the provincial treasury with a full accounting of who received what and how the money was spent, she said.
The review, which started in February, also looked at electronic bingo, capping the number of video lottery terminals at 6,000 and at rationalization of grant programs to apply for money.
Funds of just over $1 million will be set aside for problem gamblers in Alberta. Saskat-chewan and Manitoba have also set a maximum number of VLTs in their jurisdictions at 3,600 and 5,350 and set up programs for addicted gamblers with $1.5 million and $900,000 respectively. British Columbia has set a limit of 5,000 VLTs.
The Alberta review will also examine the number of gaming licences granted annually, as well as the future of casinos and whether for-profit casinos should be allowed.
The Tsuu T’ina Nation recently shelved an April referendum on the question of whether to allow a privately run for-profit casino on the reserve south of Calgary. The band said more information was needed about a proposal to join a Las Vegas-based company and build an $80 million gambling, entertainment and hotel package.
