Gambling expansion not supported by Canadians, poll suggests

A new poll by Angus Reid has found only about one in 10 Canadians want to expand gambling in their province.

Over 60 per cent of respondents actually favour their province's current involvement with gambling, while nearly four in 10 Canadians would like a reduction, according to pollster Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute.

"The big takeaway here is that in the minds of British Columbians, they'd like to see the status quo. They don't want to see their provincial government roll the dice on more and expanded gambling in British Columbia."

While the poll suggests the majority of Canadians favour keeping government involvement in gaming as is, 47 per cent agree more needs to be done to address gambling addiction.

"For the most part British Columbians do see it as something that does more good than harm because of the revenues that are generated and plowed back into program spending, but they would like to see more of that money," said Kurl.

The poll also suggests about one in four Canadians either have a close friend, family member, or they themselves have a gambling problem.

In B.C., of the $2.9 billion in gambling revenue from 2014/15, only $5.9 million went towards responsible gambling education and problem gambling services.

The B.C. Lottery Corporation is currently pursuing proposals for new casinos in North Vancouver, South Metro Vancouver and Victoria.

• See the full poll results

The Angus Reid Institute conducted the online survey from Aug. 8 to 12, 2016, among a representative, random sample of 1,518 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.