Port Moody council pushes for sharing of gaming revenue, once again

For the third year in a row, Port Moody is pushing for provincial changes to how gambling revenues are distributed. This year, however, they are taking casinos off the table.

On Feb. 25, council unanimously endorsed an advocacy motion to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) and the Lower Mainland Local Government Association’s 2025 conventions, asking for amendments to existing gaming agreements and a provincial working group to be formed.

Coun. Samantha Agtarap has introduced resolutions to these municipal conventions every year since she was elected in 2022.

“I’m hoping the third time’s the charm,” Agtarap said. “Because there’s ultimately more communities that don’t have casinos than do.”

Currently, host municipalities like Coquitlam, Langley, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver reap 10 percent of casino net revenue.

While these agreements are meant to offset the negative social impacts from hosting casinos, Agtarap argued there is no evidence they have experienced any more negative impacts than surrounding communities.

In fact, she said data from 2022 showed that Port Moody residents, on average, spend more than Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam residents per year at casinos.

Furthermore, Agtarap said host municipalities profit from additional economic benefits like property taxes, in addition to the revenue, allowing for more money to be put into amenities and services

Key to Agtarap’s argument is that many amenities and services are shared across the region, yet some result in significant financial gain while others, like hospitals and regional parks, do not.

For instance, she said Port Moody’s 26-acre Eagle Ridge Hospital provides a regional service, yet is exempt from property taxes which would net the city $800,000 annually.

“When these types of decisions around land use are inconsistent with other land uses the province controls revenues over (i.e., casinos), it is hard to reconcile the inequity, or disregard the irony, of these policies,” the motion stated.

It describes the issue as an “uneven playing field,” which is further strained by municipal councils being asked to “do more with less,” and moves towards “residents first” policies.

Agtarap said these inequities were not initially contemplated by the province when its gaming policies were drafted.

She added the challenge will be on how to redistribute without taking away revenues from host municipalities.

Her motion proposed three options: reallocation of the casino net revenues; provide a share of e-gaming revenue to non-host communities; or pool all gaming revenues on a per capita basis.

Several Port Moody councillors noted that the City of Coquitlam’s councillors consistently push back on the concept of revenue sharing, even if casino cash is exempt from the motion.

“We get the same push back from the same players every single time,” said Coun. Callan Morrison. “I’m hoping (others) will perhaps come around and see that this could be better for everybody.”

Coun. Diana Dilworth thanked Agtarap for her “tenacity” regarding the issue, pointing out this will be the sixth time Port Moody has raised the issue at UBCM.

However, she urged patience, noting it took eight years of resolutions before the province adopted a provincial housing strategy.