(Quebec) The Legault government is placing two conditions on Loto-Quebec and Groupe CH’s project to open a brand new arcade at the Bell Centre: public health approval and the project resulting in a net reduction in the number of video lottery terminals.
Posted at 11:42 am
“This is the kind of file I want to consult public health on. We will do that if we do it with public health,” the Prime Minister said shortly, pressing firmly on the ‘if’ the project is moving forward.
On Wednesday, La Presse announced that Loto-Québec and Groupe CH, owners of the Montreal Canadiens, are close to finalizing an agreement to open a brand new gaming room at the Bell Centre. The facility will be equipped with several hundred slot machines and sports betting terminals.
On Wednesday morning, Loto-Québec CEO Jean-François Bergeron confirmed the information from La Presse in an interview with Paul Arcand on the ether of 98.5.
The brand new gaming room will be located on the premises that currently house the 1909 Taverne Moderne restaurant, a very large three-story eatery adjacent to the Bell Center that has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.
In order for a new Loto-Québec gaming room to see the light of day at the Bell Centre, one more condition must be met: the project must also result in a net reduction in the number of video lottery terminals.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Eric Girard
Finance Minister Eric Girard, head of Loto-Québec, said on Wednesday. He confirmed talks were underway between Crown Corporation and the owner of Montreal Canadiens to open such a facility with several hundred slot machines and sports betting terminals, La Presse revealed.
“We have always been clear that there were two necessary conditions, namely that public health consent, and second, that the number of video lottery machines on the territory be reduced net,” he argued.
The project has not yet been submitted to the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal. The minister also recalled that the number of video lottery machines in Quebec has fallen in recent years from 15,000 to 9,300 today.
For Eric Girard, it is important that Loto-Québec “takes its place” in the world of sports betting as well as that of online gambling. Especially since the state-owned company relies on “responsible gambling”. “The game will always exist, it needs to be framed,” he said. It is very important, social responsibility, that it is controlled, that there are support measures. »
Two weeks ago he said he was considering introducing a new law restricting access to illegal online gambling sites after an initial attempt by the previous government failed the courts’ test.
The opposition concerned
The Quebec Liberal Party has requested that the Commission des finances publiques be given an initiative mandate to investigate the project.
“We are obviously concerned about the ease of access to this site in the heart of downtown Montreal and the public transportation system, and that alcohol consumption on the site may aggravate compulsive gambling,” wrote Liberal MP for Marguerite-Bourgeoys, Frédéric Beauchemin, in his letter to the chairman of the commission.
Liberals want MPs to hear health officials in particular about the impact of these types of projects on public health and gambling-related issues.
“I find that extremely worrying. Then when people say to me: Well, with that we are reducing the supply of machines… I don’t think we are reducing the supply by putting in a gaming room,” said interim Liberal chairman Marc Tanguay.
“The question you need to ask yourself is: Is that what downtown Montreal needs, thousands of slot machines? I think asking the question is a bit like answering it,” asked Quebec solidaire parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
“And we can’t wait to hear from Public Health on this file. For in the past, public health had sounded the alarm on downtown Montreal casino development projects by highlighting the presence of vulnerable populations in the area and then saying that it might not be the idea of the century to add such mini- Casinos near vulnerable populations,” he added.
“In Quebec, do we need more gaming or fewer gaming offerings? You see me coming, the answer is fewer game offers. However, the Casino de Montreal is nearby. […] I want us to fight addiction,” said PQ MP Pascal Bérubé.
With Katia Gagnon