The British Columbia Lottery Corp., which oversee casinos in the most Western of Canada’s provinces, last week approved the Cascades Casino Delta, a gaming and entertainment facility in the city of Delta, which will be operated by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd.
The project will include a casino with 500 slots, 24 gaming tables, electronic table games, hotel, dining and meeting space.
The facility was chosen to replace the Newton Community Gaming Centre which closed earlier this year. Its location was approved after reviewing the gaming market and impacts on the area, and after it was approved by the city council in May of 2018.
Construction will begin at the former Delta Town & Country Inn early next year, with the project expected to be completed by mid-2020.
The approval comes as BC casinos are trying to recover from a money laundering scandal that came to light three years ago, and which led to the introduction by the provincial government of a new, stricter regime of keeping track of large cash transactions.
The province has created a web site so citizens can report questionable activities and leave tips, although critics point out that the site will only be live for two months. They also argue that attempts to combat money laundering have so far been superficial and that the two month life of the web site is proof.
Nearly a year ago the government unrolled new regulations that require players to complete paperwork documenting the source of funds larger than $8,000 during a 24-hour period. It also announced plans to bring third-party auditors to monitor several casinos. This action was taken at the suggestions of the BCLC, after it conducted its own investigation of casino compliance and concluded that more oversight was needed because, despite the three-year scandal, casinos are still not cooperating fully.
