There is an all-candidate’s debate on Global News tomorrow night. Please submit your questions tonight on their position on Gambling Expansion in BC.

We want to know: “Given the City of Vancouver’s overwhelming opposition to a casino, and the City of Surrey recent denial of a Casino gaming license for the proposed South Surrey Mega-Casino as requested by the majority of Surrey Residents, What is the Candidate’s position on the Expansion of Gambling in BC?”

Please submit your questions in advance via email to:
leadersdebate@globalnews.ca

or visit the global news website below for more information:

There is a lot of science behind the high gambling addiction rates of Casino Slot Machines. It is not just entertainment as the Casino Operators and BCLC (and OLG in Ontario) would have you believe. The machines are designed to stimulate the pleasure centers in the brain. The same pleasure sensors which help people to learn from their mistakes and get better. The brain has evolved to give us pleasure when we nearly win or accomplish a task. By doing so, it helps us learn as we see ourselves getting nearing to our goal. Without this response from the brain, we could never learn a task as we would only receive pleasure on accomplishing the goal and we would receive only displeasure from our learning experience.

This is how Slot Machines are designed. While the odds of winning are very low, the odds of ALMOST WINNING is programmed to be MUCH HIGHER than normal. This means that our brain gets stimulated and we receive pleasure from almost winning at Slots. While we may be losing hundreds of dollars a night, our brain is tricking us into thinking we are doing well because these near misses fool the brain and stimulate the pleasure center even though you may be losing your house on the next pull of the lever. Very clever these Casino Operators. That is why the gambling addiction rates for people who play slots on a regular basis is as high as 35%.

Watch the video report on this by clicking here.

The fight against the Casino in downtown Toronto continues. Unlike Surrey where we have the wonderful Mayor Dianne Watts who listens to residents, the people in Toronto are not so lucky. A well-known White Rock author is helping them in their fight. Here is a recent interview with Gary Stephen Ross on Casino Gambling. Good work Gary!

Click here to read the article.

In Toronto, it is the Mayor and Construction Unions and Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) against the residents of Toronto. Here is a good article about the debate and how religious leaders are stepping up to fight the Casino and the negative impacts it will have on the community. Surrey even gets an honorable mention for our efforts! Click here to read the article.

While those who stand to gain from casinos such as BCLC and Casino owners, like to down play crime and their relationship to Casinos. They mention how good their security is within a Casino, but they forget to mention all the crime such as Loan-Sharking that happens in and out of a Casino as they turn the other eye. They also forget to tell you about the long-term impact of Casinos on Crime.

Whether Casinos increase Crime is not a matter of opinion, there are well researched university papers which clearly show that crime increases the closer one lives to a Casino. As Casinos take money from the community, those addicted to gambling get more and more desperate to make up for their losses. It creates a vicious cycle that Casinos rely on for their profits.

The people who run Gambler’s Anonymous say that about 90% of Gambler’s Anonymous members report that they have resorted to some form of crime to support their Gambling habit. We also have 20 year long studies which compared 3000 side-by-side communities, and those that have Casinos so a significant increase in crime over time. Check out the picture here .

Read individual stories of gambling addiction and how it leads to crime in this Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-crimes-linked-to-gambling-addiction/article9333715/