Monday, February 19, 2007

Let Winnipeggers vote on whether they want VLTs
David Danyluk, Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG, we have a problem.

We all know gambling can become an addiction that can destroy lives and families. Despite euphemisms like "gaming" or "economic development", it is still addictive and it's particularly harmful to some citizens.

It is now a fact that our provincial government has become addicted to gambling revenues -- it cannot quit. Since 2001, the provincial government's cut from the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation (MLC) has averaged -- and now surpasses -- a quarter billion dollars per year. To generate $277 million last year, gamblers needed to feed their habit to the tune of $669 million. The province relies more and more on gamblers to balance its budgets.

Like different types of drugs, different types of gambling can be more addictive than others. The most popular is video lottery terminals (VLTs) which are commonly known as the "crack cocaine" of gambling. To feed our habit there are 2,160 terminals of temptation in Winnipeg. The numbers are staggering. According to the MLC, VLT revenue from Winnipeg in 2004 was $95.8 million. This ballooned by 27 per cent in 2005 to $132 million and last year we set a record of $163 million. At this rate we are on track to reach $200 million in 2007.

Since these numbers are for Winnipeg, what do they mean per capita? With a population of 640,000, and assuming 25 per cent are under 18, the $339 was put into VLTs last year for every single adult Winnipegger. Like many of you, I never touched a machine, let alone fed it $339 of my (after tax) income. According to 2003 literature from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM), three-quarters of Manitobans do not play VLTs at all.

For those who feel gambling is affecting their lives, the AFM has a Problem Gambling Help-Line where some statistics are kept. Not surprisingly, 74 per cent of calls were about VLT gambling problems. The most common place to gamble, at 70 per cent, was in hotels and bars. The amount that the callers spent per day was $101 to $500 (45 per cent), and $501 to $1,000 (five per cent). The frequency of their VLT gambling was most alarming. Callers to the help line reported gambling each month an average of: five to 10 days (31 per cent); 11 to 15 days (22 per cent); and 16 or more days (26 per cent). Incidentally, the average caller was a 35-50 year old male with a full time job -- those our society relies on to be most productive.

The 2003 reports go on to say that the callers listed "financial, spousal, family, work/school, and legal" problems. Financially, the common problems were, "unpaid rent/mortgage, unpaid bills, little or no food money, credit card debt, other loans, pawning or selling goods, writing bounced cheques," and heading for bankruptcy. Financial problems like these can ruin whole families. These serious problems can lead to spousal abuse, drug or alcohol abuse and suicides. It is fair to assume that the number of callers seeking help for VLT related problems has risen with the VLT profits. For what it is worth, the MLC claims to practice responsible gaming. Personally, I adopted a similar philosophy and now I practise responsible speeding when I drive my car.

For those of us not yet affected by a gambling addiction, we can rest assured that the gambling racket in Manitoba is run by our responsible government and not the mob. To launder its gambling money, the province puts the loot from the MLC into general revenues so that when it is passed around to municipalities, like hush money, it won't feel so dirty when they explain where they got it. If a municipality accuses the province of unfairly taxing its vulnerable citizens, it can respond by saying it does so to support some charities and give some money (35 per cent) to municipalities, which is true.

So how much did Winnipeg get back from the $162 million it generated? The city got $8.8 million or about 5.5 per cent. Not a bad return from a monopoly where others are left to cover the social costs. Just remember, if anybody asks, our share came from general revenues.

If we asked Premier Gary Doer: "Don't you think you should take it easy? Why do you need more and more gambling revenue? Maybe you are addicted. Could you stop if you wanted to?"

What could he say? "No problem. We are supporting communities and jobs and roads and soccer teams. Who would want to stop us?"

One town did. In 1998, the town of Winkler held a plebiscite and confirmed that 78 per cent of residents wanted the VLTs removed from their community. The hotel owner took his case to the Supreme Court and lost. The VLTs were gone the next year. Flummoxed, the then Conservative government did the only thing it could; it created The Gaming Control Local Option (VLT) Act. Now any municipal council can support having the VLT question asked on the ballot and a majority vote will get rid of the machines. In 2003, the NDP government sent Winkler its $120,000 take of the gambling money, surely an offer they could not refuse. Winkler sent it back.

So, at $340 per adult, does Winnipeg have a gambling problem yet? How about at $400? Is this fair, responsible, ethical taxation? Is this socially sustainable or should Winnipeg become the next Winkler? Could we live without the VLTs in Winnipeg bars and restaurants? Winnipeg would still have gambling -- the race track, casinos, lotteries, bingos, etc. -- just no VLTs.

As early as the next civic election in 2010, when VLT revenues will be sky high, Winnipeggers could say on their ballots whether they want VLTs in Winnipeg or not. Until then, it is up to us to coax at least nine members of city council to grant us our democratic right to vote yes or no.

David Danyluk is completing his master's degree in city planning at the University of Manitoba.