British Columbia Trains Officers About Casino Problem Gambling

Eventually, the British Columbian government plans to allocate at least one official to each casino in the state.

British Columbia is hiring a group of state officials who are being trained to spot, educate, and potentially intervene in problem gambling cases. So far, nine officers have been given the job to teach both casino staff and gamblers about compulsive gambling.

Eventually, the British Columbian government plans to allocate at least one official to each casino in the state. The assistant deputy minister of gaming policy, Derek Sturko, stated, "We did a pilot program in 2005 at two Lower Mainland casinos and discovered that worked quite well."

Sturko went on to assert that, while research indicates no growth in problem gambling in British Columbia over the past ten years, the government prefers to be proactive and address the problem at a time when it is manageable.

Although critics of the government said the very creation of the jobs proved the crisis exists, there was no evidence to support their claim. What is known is that casino revenues in British Columbia from the existing 20 casinos have doubled since 2001, to $1.1 billion annually.

State officers with some power of intervention should only be welcomed by both casino advocates and detractors. They would be on hand to address the concerns of casino opponents, while relieving casino management of the full responsibility to police themselves. Oversight and transparency should go a long way to defeating nay-sayers, and preventing ugly incidents that embarass proponents.