Starting December 2, the Canadian Casinos of Winnipeg—Club Regent and McPhillips Station—will be open 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays as part of a four-month pilot project run by the Manitoba government. Hours will be 10 a.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Monday. Over the Christmas weekend, the casinos will be closed from 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve until 10 a.m. on Canadian Boxing Day.
However, the new casino hours are cause for alarm for many citizens, including University of Manitoba Associate Professor Tracie Afifi, an expert on gambling addiction. “I have great concern. We know that making gambling more available and more accessible corresponds with an increased likelihood of gambling problems. I would anticipate that this would be a very harmful addition to the province.”
Afifi said extending casino hours tempts people who don’t have access to online gambling. She added although gambling is a form of entertainment to many people, it is “very destructive” for a segment of the population. People who see casino gambling as a safe and harmless social activity are not likely to be there “in the wee hours. It may be that people with gambling problems are more likely to attend at those times,” Afifi said.
She stated the provincial government is conducting the pilot program to determine how much extra revenue it can generate—but the harm it can cause cannot be easily measured. Problem gambling can impact relationships, jobs, mental and physical health and even the greater community if an individual’s problem leads to crime. “It becomes problematic in a wide range of areas. It’s not restricted to just that individual. With this decision, we can be certain we’re going to be increasing gambling problems. It’s probably something we should not be doing,” Afifi concluded.
