British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) in Canada is contemplating expanding gambling offerings at the Parq and Hastings racinos, the Vancouver Sun reported May 1.
This intelligence came via Vancouver’s general manager of arts, culture and community services, Margaret Wittgens, who wrote “BCLC is seeking to expand gambling opportunities at the Parq and Hastings Racecourse casinos by potentially increasing the number of slot machines and table games.”
The Parq in Yaletown has 600 slots and 61 gaming tables and Hastings Racecourse in east Vancouver has 446 slots and no tables. Parq has the ability to operate 75 tables and Hastings could have up to 600 slots with existing permits.
The city collects 10 percent of total gaming revenue, which was $7.2 million in the fiscal year of 2022-23. In the years just previous to the global pandemic that number was more than $10 million. During the pandemic that figure was zero.
About 88 percent of the gambling revenue the city collects comes from the Parq.
According to Wittgens, the BCLC anticipates that the expansion could add up to $5 million to the city’s revenue. She and City Manager Paul Mochrie are recommending that the city council allow expanding the casinos as long as BCLC conducts an impact assessment on the proposal.
Both casinos are operating under an expansion moratorium that was adopted in 2011. The moratorium serves to require public consultations by the BC government and BCLC.
