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One day after the idea was criticized by Montreal public health, Loto-Québec announced Tuesday it is withdrawing its plan to set up a mini-casino near the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal.
“Loto-Québec understands that certain elements linked to the location of the (proposed) gaming hall further amplified the risks (associated with gambling) in the eyes of public health,” the provincial lottery and gaming agency said in a statement.
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Those elements include the mini-casino’s planned location adjacent to the Bell Centre, as well as its association with the Groupe CH, the company that owns the Montreal Canadiens, Loto-Québec said.
The mini-casino would have featured slot machines, sports betting kiosks and poker tables. It would have been aimed primarily at those already at the Bell Centre, although access from the street would have been possible.
In a Radio-Canada interview Monday, Montreal public health director Dr. Mylène Drouin said that opening a mini-casino in the heart of downtown would expose a large number of at-risk people to VLTs who otherwise might not have the occasion to use them.
“We know downtown is a very busy place,” she said. “There is a population which is vulnerable to gambling. It’s not so much the homeless or those with gambling addictions as it is men age 18 to 44, and whose vulnerabilities are well known.”
In its statement, Loto-Québec said it is aware that “gambling and more particularly video lottery terminals represent a certain risk.”
It said that’s why it had proposed a “responsible project” that would have reduced accessibility to gambling by removing 600 VLTs installed in bars located in disadvantaged areas of the island of Montreal.
Loto-Québec said it “respects the advice of public health but is convinced that this is a missed opportunity.”
In April, several community groups and neighbourhood roundtables in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough and Peter-McGill district of the Ville-Marie borough expressed strong opposition to the gambling hall project.
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