The British Columbia Government is hiring a team of nine 'responsible gambling information officers' to educate casino staff and patrons about issues surrounding problem gambling. The new jobs are part of a long term plan, which would see such officers in every casino, according to a statement from the assistant deputy minister of gambling policy, Derek Sturko.
“We did a polot program in 2005 at two Lower Mainland casinos and discovered that worked quite well.” said Sturko “And this is part of our plan to grow that out to every casino gaming facility.”
It is hoped that early intervention by the gambling information officers may help to prevent people from becoming problem gamblers. Sturko stressed that a decade of research showed no evidence that problem gambling was increasing in British Columbia, but certain NDP gaming policy critics, including Harry Lali, said that the creation of the jobs indicates that there is a problem in the area.
“It is a stark admission by this government that Liberal policies are directly creating gambling adicts in this province”, said Lali, adding “It is the massive expansion of gambling by Gordon Gampbell and the Liberals that is creating this problem.”
Revenue from casinos has increased from $552 million to around $1.1 billion since the Liberal government came to power in 2001.
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