City of Kamloops expecting big drop in gambling revenue in 2021
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As B.C. casinos prepare to welcome back high rollers, the City of Kamloops is anticipating lower than forecast annual gaming revenue, due to prolonged casino closures and limitations as they open up.
On Monday (June 28), the city’s finance committee heard that as casinos prepare to reopen on July 1 amid loosening COVID-19 restrictions, the municipality is expecting as little as 35 per cent of normal annual revenue earned off the proceeds of gambling at Cascades and Chances casinos.
As a host community, Kamloops receives a 10 per cent share of revenue from Cascades and Chances casinos, both shuttered during the pandemic. The city’s finance department initially forecast about $1.3 million, or 50 per cent of traditional revenue ($2.6 million), in 2021.
Dave Hallinan, Kamloops’ planning and procurement manager, said that despite the reopening of casinos this week, revenue is expected to stay down due to physical distancing protocols that will remain in place.
“We will be expecting a bit of a shortfall, probably, with regard to what we had budgeted on those funds,” Hallinan said.
Meanwhile, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, Kamloops politicians asked the province to consider sharing revenue it earns from online gambling, which occurs from homes throughout British Columbia, including in Kamloops. That request, however, was rejected by B.C. NDP Attorney General David Eby.
