Monday, January 08, 2007

WHEN the ministerial association of Terrace, BC learned that a local bingo
palace was asking city council to change a bylaw so it could bring slot
machines to their northern BC community, they knew they had to speak out
against the proposal. Joel Ringma, the pastor of Terrace's Christian
Reformed Church, was delegated to speak at a public forum in October on
their behalf. "I basically said, 'Look, there's going to be a cost to this.
It'll be a social cost, a credibility cost to council, and a spiritual cost
if you go ahead with slot machines in Terrace . . . It may reap some
financial benefit for us as a city, but it will cost more than it gains,'"
he said.
In the end, the mayor and councillors voted 4 - 3 to keep slots out of
Terrace. It was a victory Ringma suspects might not have happened if people
had not made their voices heard. Speaking of one of the councillors who
opposed the slots, he said she "said that the presence of the people that
were speaking against the motion was what influenced her. "There were 17
people that spoke to the motion and there were about 100 people in
attendance. So I think our collective presence there made an impact."
Nothing wrong Such outcomes are much more the exception than the rule. Not
only are most of BC's municipal and provincial governments inclined to
welcome more and more state-sanctioned gambling as a way to fill their own
coffers, but most people -- including most Christians -- see nothing wrong
with it. "Even within our own church," said Ringma, "even though most folks
are opposed to [slot machines], you put out a petition and you encourage
people to sign it, and the participation rate . . . is less than maybe what
one might hope for." Ringma blamed this response on "a general sense of
apathy . . . 'What's in it for me if I speak against this? This doesn't
affect my life, my family, so why should I put the time and energy into
this?'" Vancouver resident Bill Chu, a Christian who coordinates the
Multicultural Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, said he has witnessed
that apathy countless times in close to 10 years of trying to urge
politicians across the Lower Mainland to halt the proliferation of new
casinos and other forms of gambling.

"The culture has been on that route for a while, and the churches have not
been really outspoken about what's wrong with that trend," he said.
"Although some individual Christians are out there helping, I wouldn't
classify it as an overwhelming response. As for identifiable churches, it's
almost nil."

In 2004, when Vancouver city council was debating whether to proceed with a
proposed casino in the Plaza of Nations, only two churches showed up to
oppose it. The casino was eventually approved on a vote of 5 - 4.

Relentless pace

And while churches have, for the most part, kept their silence, the
opportunities for people to gamble keeps growing at a relentless pace.
Greater Vancouver now boasts eight casinos. Businessman Paul Esposito has
renewed his bid to build a casino in Abbotsford. As well, Great Canadian
Casinos has the green light to install 900 slot machines at the Hastings
Race Track in East Vancouver.

In 2004, the BC Lottery Corporation introduced Internet gambling. In 2005,
it added betting on virtual-reality racing. Last fall, it began sending out
'ambassadors' hired to 'educate' bar and pub patrons about a new
poker-themed lottery.

The popularity of these decisions is reflected in the $2.26 billion the
corporation reported earning in the 2005 - 2006 fiscal year; this was up
from $2 billion a year earlier and $11 million more than the corporation
itself had projected. Of that amount, the government garnered $914 million,
nearly $100 million more than in 2005. A further $137.7 million went to more
than 5,000 charitable organizations across the province.

Last fall, the Financial Post reported, the 10 provinces together pocketed
$7.3 billion in profit -- on 'gaming' revenue -- of $12.9 billion; this is a
79 percent increase since 1992.

One high-profile Christian who has had some success with an anti-gambling
campaign is Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary; the local
Catholic school board initially balked when he ordered them to stop taking
revenues from gambling sources, but in September, they complied.

His victory, however, was an exception. Ringma said he suspects many
Christians are simply afraid to take a stand.

"Maybe in their head, they know that it's wrong; but on another level, they
don't want to be perceived as killjoys -- 'Oh, here come the Christians
again saying no to our fun things.'"

Then there is the fact, Ringma added, that a portion of the revenue does get
pumped back into the community.

"If you're against lotteries or slot machines, then you're somehow
associated with being against . . . youth programs or something like that,"
he said.

For local governments, there is the calculation that money from casinos will
make it easier to keep down taxes, a prospect which Chu claimed has been
proven false.

"One Richmond councillor promised . . . if we get the River Rock Casino,
there wouldn't be tax increases for the next four years," he said.
"Obviously, that promise was broken year after year, even after River Rock
happened."

Human toll

What is not a matter of speculation, however, is the rapidly rising human
toll of people whose passion for gambling is such that they pose a danger to
themselves and their families. According to BC's Gaming Policy and
Enforcement Branch, 5,830 people called its help-line in the last fiscal
year to say they had a problem with gambling -- up 86 percent from the
previous year.

One person they are referred to for help is Ian Gartshore, a Nanaimo-based
therapist and ordained Presbyterian minister, who is under contract with the
government to counsel problem gamblers.

"They're here," he said, "because they're fearful of what's going to happen
if they don't make a change . . . It might be a spouse who says, 'You've
just blown $40,000 of our money on gambling. You better go get some
counselling. Otherwise, you may not have a spouse.'"

Gartshore said he worries those numbers will keep rising, especially as more
and more teenagers become avid gamblers. "Research is showing that the
earlier you get started in gambling, the more likely you are to get into a
real problem with it," he said.

"So if they're doing more of it now, which appears to be the case, then
what's that going to mean when they're in their 40s?"

Problem gambling

A recent survey by the Responsible Gambling Council found that problem
gambling among people aged 18 to 24 rose 400 percent between 2001 and 2005.

Another emerging problem is the rise in crime in B.C.'s casinos. As the
enforcement branch also reported, the number of investigations launched into
alleged loan-sharking, money-laundering, fraud, thefts, threats and assaults
rose 36 percent in 2005 - 2006.

Also investigated were 1,155 attempts to pass counterfeit money and 652
Gaming Control Act violations, more than double the 279 in the previous
year. But only 11 criminal charges were laid. Chu said he is not surprised
by this trend. "We are becoming government for the casinos and by the
casinos, because this government of ours is addicted to [gambling]," he
said.

"And yet . . . they're not spending a cent on social housing. So we are fast
becoming part of a heartless community -- a group of heartless people that
would rather shift the tax burden from the rich and famous to the vulnerable
in society."

This is all the more reason, he added, for Christians to wake up and "call
God's people into repentance, acknowledging our silence in the past and
hopefully to act in the future."