The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Deputy Lotteries and Gaming Critic Ron Schuler says the Doer government's decision to expand Sunday gambling is further evidence that they are more concerned with increasing revenues than they are with the growing problem of gambling addictions in Manitoba. "With the steps the Doer government has taken in regards to gaming over the past couple of years there is no question that they are trying to make gambling their cash cow," said Schuler. "It's time for Manitobans to ask the NDP members who railed against gambling when in Opposition, when is enough, enough?" Schuler outlined that since taking office the Doer government has: Increased the hours that VLTs are allowed to operate; Increased the threshold (minimum amount of money a VLT must take in daily); Increased the number of VLTs in the province and are now looking at spending $100 million on new VLTs; Increased the amount of money spent on advertising gambling in Manitoba; Increased the number of casinos in the province; Introduced Sunday gambling Schuler repeated his call for a moratorium on increased gambling and that a full review of the gaming policy in this province be undertaken before any gambling expansion proceeds. "According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba has one of the highest incidences of gambling addiction in the country," said Schuler. "Yet the Doer government continues to look for ways to increase the amount of money they can get out of Manitoba Lotteries in an attempt to feed their spending appetite. These are serious issues that must be addressed before this problem gets even worse. " "We would urge the Doer government to start working on a long-term economic strategy so we can start growing Manitoba's economy, and put an end to their reliance on increased gambling, raiding of Manitoba Hydro and draining of the Rainy Day Fund to balance the books."
