Correspondence: Town of View Royal - Additional Casino in South Vancouver Island

Correspondence: Town of View Royal - Additional Casino in South Vancouver Island

From

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL
45 View Royal Avenue, Victoria, BC, Canada V9B 1A6
Ph. 250-479-6800 • Fx. 250-727-9551 • E. info@viewroyal.ca • www.viewroyal.ca

Date

April 25, 2016

To

City of Langford
Attn: Mayor Stewart Young
2nd Fir - 877 Goldstream Avenue
Victoria, BC V9B 2X8

Subject

Re: BC Lottery Corporation's interest in an Additional Casino in South Vancouver Island

Dear Mayor Young,

I am writing in regard to BC Lottery Corporation's interest in adding an additional casino in the Southern Vancouver Island Region.

View Royal and the other West Shore communities do not believe there is a market for a second casino. We are concerned that adding a new gaming facility will result in the creation of two gaming facilities sharing a market that should - and is intended to be - captured by View Royal Casino. We believe any additional gambling revenue earned by the province from a new facility will be offset by a loss of provincial gambling revenue from View Royal Casino. We also believe municipal revenues from View Royal Casino — shared by seven local communities — will be negatively affected.

In September 2004, the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) took a very transparent approach to the Southern Vancouver Island Casino Market Assessment prepared by KPMG for BCLC. The final report at that time was shared with the Town of View Royal including an invitation for additional inquiries. As a result the Town of View Royal clearly understood the implications of recommendations included therein and contributed to a better outcome on behalf of the province, View Royal Casino and West Shore municipalities.

The Town of View Royal has requested that BCLC share the current Southern Vancouver Island Casino Market Assessment so that all communities may have a reasonable opportunity to review the details of the study and better understand BCLC's rationale for diluting the market in this way. To date BCLC has refused to make that analysis public.

A second casino would significantly reduce municipal revenues from View Royal Casino currently shared by View Royal, Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, Esquimalt, Sooke and Highlands.

View Royal Casino revenues shared during 2015