Just when you thought the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) could bungle no more, it bungles again. Not only is its online gambling sited screwed up from day one, the screw ups at its casinos just never seem to end.

All this shows there is no way the government should be expanding BCLC's reach into online gambling.

On the day the new government online site opened, it had to be shut down because some people were able to play using other peoples' money - and you thought only the government could do that!

What are a few of the other problem ?

Well, to create the illusion that the government gambling monopoly, the BCLC, encourages responsible gambling, it has a voluntary exclusion list that people can put their name on so they are prevented going inside casinos in B.C. Well, one person on the list won inside a casino, yes, inside the casino, and the BCLC said they wouldn't pay him his winnings.

This was after a woman on the exclusion list managed to lose $331,000 inside two casinos. She is now suing the BCLC.

These are just a few of the eyerolling problems at the BCLC. But what they, and the more serious problems show, is the B.C. government's expansion into online gambling is a move in the wrong direction. If government wants a piece of the action, it should set the rules of the game and let the private sector take the risk. Let's leave the games of chance to those playing with their own money.

You can read the litany of BCLC bungles and what to do about it here.

By: Maureen Bader
Posted: July 27, 2010
Topic: British Columbia

Join Us   |   Donate