According to its annual reports, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries left unspent $869,000 in 2015 and $2.1 million last year on problem gambling research and treatment, although its social responsibility budget is $12 million. MLL is required by law to allocate 2 per cent of its net income to addictions research and treatment. But MLL Director of Corporate Responsibility Bev Mehmel said, “I think it’s actually something to be proud of. We’re very fiscally responsible.” However, she added, “With any luck we will have less unspent next year. That would be our hope and our goal.”
Former MLL gambling research council member Leah Gazan said, “There’s no reason the money is not being spent. The provincial government makes a lot of money off gaming and alcohol consumption in this province. If you’re making money off these kinds of industries that can potentially harm people then you really need to invest to make sure that people are safe. There are many areas where they could invest money, not just in terms of harm reduction but also dealing with issues that arise out of these kinds of industries.”
MLL phased out the gambling research council in 2018. The program had a $1 million annual budget for academic studies into responsible gambling, problem-gambling prevention and treatment. Former gambling research council chairman Linda Taylor noted, “We were trying to do our best to fund research which we felt was really valuable in preventing gambling problems.” Taylor said the budget was underspent when she served on the council, but she partially attributed that to lack of staff availability. “The staff were being utilized in other ways by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries and so there wasn’t enough outreach, in my view, going on,” she said.
Regarding the unspent social responsibility funds, Taylor said, “I don’t think anybody would dispute that problem gambling is a problem in this province and it is really a serious problem for families that are affected by this. Families can break up, people can become severely depressed. Some people have seemingly committed suicide as a result of gambling issues.”
Mehmel said MLL would consider increasing funding if a group presents a solid case. “We would look at what would be the rationale for increasing. To date, we haven’t received any requests,” she said.
Besides a drop in funding for research, allocations also have declined for treatment. According to the annual reports, only internal spending on operating and public awareness has increased—up 18 percent over the last three years, for public relations campaigns, some MLL staff salaries and conference attendance.
