A recent comparison of the last two annual reports of British Columbia’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch showed gambling violations soared by 735 percent last year—yet no charges were filed. The report for the year ended March 31, 2015 was released May 17.
The report indicated of 11,213 incident reports, only 75 were referred to Crown counsel. Police and intelligence agencies were informed of 6,788 cases. There were 1,642 fraud reports, up 3 percent from the previous year, but only 60 cases were referred to the Crown. Fraud rose 8 percent and loan sharking and cheating reports increased 29 percent. Suspicious transactions were up 33 percent to 1,832 but none were referred to the Crown, like the previous year.
Following release of the report, New Democratic Party member MLA David Eby challenged Finance Minster Mike de Jong, who is responsible for gambling regulation and marketing. “Can the minister explain what a Gaming Control Act violation is, and can he explain why they appear to be up 735 percent over last year’s numbers? The numbers I have are 385 GCA violations last year. This year, it’s 3,215.”
de Jong replied, “While we’re gathering some information to respond to the member’s question, I should say the member has received the copy of the report. I regret that the copy was filed today. It may well have been on my desk for several days. I apologize for that, but I thought it would be worse to table it tomorrow than today. What I’m still trying to ascertain is a more fulsome description of what types of incidents or alleged violations might be captured by that number.”
Eby pointed out although violations skyrocketed, recommendations to Crown counsel for charges dropped from 37 to zero, but de Jong did not directly answer the charge. There were long delays between Eby’s questions and de Jong’s answers as de Jong consulted extensive briefing materials and frequently spoke with GPEB Assistant Deputy Minister John Mazure, and B.C. Lottery Corporation Chief Executive Officer Jim Lightbody and Chief Financial Officer Amanda Hobson.
The Gaming Control Act regulates registration, licensing and administration of gambling activities and audit and compliance. GCA Division 2 includes offenses such as unauthorized lottery schemes, unauthorized gambling by minors, unlawful entry or presence at a casino and unregistered gambling service providers and workers.
