Letterbox: Hoping for an equitable split of casino cash? Don’t bet on it
In this letter-to-the-editor, Port Moody Coun. Samantha Agtarap contends the province’s refusal to share gaming revenue while implementing tight limits on the taxation of port properties is costing taxpayers in the city of the arts.
Dear editor,
Your tax bill is influenced by more than just your city council. Policies, set by senior levels of government, advantage some communities over others. Provincial policies on gaming revenue (net revenue from lottery, betting and casinos) and selective property tax caps on specific property classes have created an unfair system of “have” and “have-not” communities.
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Gaming revenue numbers are stark: in 2024/25, the province raked in $1.4 billion from the gaming industry, and shared $86.6 million with just 33 communities that host gaming facilities (First Nations receive 7 percent as part of reconciliation agreements). Over $910 million went into the General Revenue coffers.
For Port Moody and the other 128 municipalities, home to over 2 million British Columbians: $0.
Community Gaming Grants (funding for non-profit groups) don’t solve this structural inequity either; that funding supports vital local groups like PACs, sports organization and many others, but does nothing address the municipal revenue burden.
Host communities maintain that they use the money to mitigate local costs but the reality is that they’re free to use this windfall directly for priorities like new firetrucks, park upgrades and festivals. It’s like receiving a Growing Community Grant every year.
Meanwhile in Port Moody, funding for community priorities comes from reserves – city savings painstakingly built from a portion of your property taxes.
For decades, this inequity has been brought to the attention of the province. Nothing changes. Almost 60 percent of British Columbians live in a host community and most MLAs have a casino in their riding. The math is political; there is little impetus to reform a system that benefits a slight majority while neglecting a significant minority.
But gaming revenue is only one piece of the equation. The province also controls taxation on ports and utilities.
In 2003, the province introduced the Ports Competitive Initiative (PCI) legislation, limiting municipal property tax rates on key port properties to maintain competitiveness. The goal was national but the cost is local. For Port Moody, this represents at least $15 million in foregone revenue over the years – a direct local subsidy for a national economic priority.
Similarly, provincially imposed caps on utility tax rates, and controversial BC Assessment practices, like the recently withdrawn plan to slash pipeline values, shift the burden from larger entities onto local taxpayers. These aren’t market fluctuations; these are policy decisions with direct local tax implications. As the BC Hydro Burrard Thermal reassessment shows, the province is willing to fight its own municipalities, costing Port Moody about $300,000 annually (roughly 0.5 percent of the tax increase).
Some communities get multi-million dollar cheques. Others, like Port Moody, which hosts infrastructure for national prosperity, have their revenue-generating ability restricted. Our residents and small business owners become the “payers of last resort,” filling gaps created in Victoria.
A smart solution is available: share a small portion of gaming revenue with all communities and ensure the PCI rate matches reality. This would be transformative for cities like ours without crippling the provincial budget. Municipalities must have real input on the PCI, utility rate caps, and assessment practices.
Ultimately, it’s about who pays for provincial priorities. It’s time to apply the principle of fairness across every postal code: an equitable share of gaming revenue and modernized port and utility tax policies to ensure that some communities do not have a disproportionate financial advantage over others.
The opinions expressed in this piece are not necessarily shared by the City of Port Moody nor its council.
Samantha Agtarap
