BCLC Fails to Adhere to Rules Set Forth for Approving Online Slots

When the BC provincial gambling domination failed to adhere its own protocols for conscientious gaming, it came under fire for approving slots for online play despite the absence of critical information.

The Canadian Press, on Tuesday, reported that online games for the gambling site PlayNow.com were approved by the British Columbia Lottery Corp (BCLC) without performing the legal compulsory assessment of the bc online casino games effect towards those who are considered problem gamblers.

A request of information led to obtaining an internal report in which BCLC's audit branch was critical of the approval process of online slot games by the BCLC whom they felt failed to carry out proper assessments relating to social responsibility in March. The assessors cautioned that the letdown to complete this "could lead to initiatives contradictory with community societal accountability objectives, and could result in observations by the public that are negative toward the BCLC."

Failure to comply with the aforesaid protocols could place the BCLC directly in violation with the advertising standards that were put in place by the Enforcement Branch as well as policies from BC Gaming. Angela Koulyras, the spokesperson for BCLC, claimed that both the BC online slots titles for the legal BC online casino were approved when provided for review even though they lacked critical information. It is also acknowledged by Koulyras that since the errors had been remedied and acknowledged that the Facebook page of PlayNow had not met the requirement of displaying the messaging of responsible gambling as required.

The statistics that player understanding towards being responsible with their gambling activities was beneath target were admitted by BLCL's own 2015 - 2016 service plan. The failure of the BCLC to meet its own lofty standards emphasizes the fundamental conflicts a government that is hungry for cash and operates as both promoter and regulator of products relating to gambling. What inspires the inclination to relinquish regulations for the sake of revenue is the reality that PlayNow is the BCLC's fastest source of revenue from a growth perspective.

Tuesday witnessed the partner announcement between the BCLC and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. It will see the BCLC offering a version online of the clubs popular 50/50 raffle draw on the PlayNow site. BCLC sees this as a first for lottery corporations and has the hope that it will see an increase in the number of people purchasing tickets of this nature.