First Nations Object to Unfair Gambling Profit Sharing in BC
Fed up with what they see as the government's monopoly on the province's gambling operations, the First Nations of British Columbia have said that they will be taking certain steps to break the monopoly.
The first step, according to the First Nations, is to set up an independent gambling authority that will oversee the building and operating of casinos in reserve casinos across BC.
The First Nations believe that the government is not sharing profits fairly from an industry that brings in literally billions of dollars.
Under current laws in BC, all gambling activities have to go through the BC Lottery Corporation, and anything else is deemed illegal.
Canadian provinces, as a rule, share their gambling revenues with first national communities, however the Chairman of the BC First Nations Gaming Initiative Chief Joe Hall was quoted in the Vancouver Sun that the government "pay less than one percent."
"I don't know how many decimal's you'd need to identify our share, but the number is closer to zero," he said.
Over half of the First Nations out of the province's 200 bands have given the thumbs up to the establishment of new gambling authority at this year's First Nation Summit.
The urgency of the matter comes after the news that the government plans to build a massive $500 million casino at BC Place, a move that has angered the First Nations.
Chief Hall said that he would go as far as the Supreme Court to determine the bands' rights in this matter.
The First Nations plan to build a number of high stakes casinos on reserve land close to large urban areas, he revealed.
