MacDonald says PC government hiding the truth about its take from VLTs and slot machines
Edmonton – Finance Critic Hugh MacDonald says the government is taking a larger percentage of the cash played by Albertans in video lottery terminals (VLTs) and slot machine revenues than it claims, creating the illusion that the odds of winning are far better than they truly are.
“The PC government makes it look like it takes only eight percent of the money from electronic gaming, but if you look at the books they’re actually collecting up to 30 percent,” MacDonald says.
According to MacDonald, the government fiddled with accounting practices over a decade ago to obscure the fact that it takes 30 percent of the money that Albertans pump into VLTs and 16 to 60 percent of all the money they drop into slot machines.
“They cooked the books to make it appear as though they are taking a smaller piece of the pie, when in fact they are gobbling up close to a third of VLT players’ money,” MacDonald says. “This change came a year after 36 municipalities held votes on whether or not VLTs should be banned in their communities.”
Up until 1999, the government relied on a “cash-in, cash-out” system for VLTs. “Cash-in” referred to the total amount of cash Albertans inserted into the machines.
According to a letter signed by Gerry McLennan, Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), the “cash-in, cash-out” system was replaced with a “money played” accounting system in 1999, after a “verbal discussion” between an Audit Principal from the Office of the Auditor General and senior executives at the AGLC.
“Money played” refers to cash as well as electronic credits (prizes paid by the machines) that are replayed by the gambler. As a result, the government’s take appears much smaller than it is. Prizes bloat the total revenue figure, MacDonald explains.
“The government claims this system is more transparent,” MacDonald adds. “On the contrary, it’s a shady form of mathematics that hides the government’s take from the pockets and purses of misinformed Alberta gamblers.”
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Attached: correspondence between Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission and MLA Hugh MacDonald
For further information, contact:
Jeff Melland, Director of Communications Hugh MacDonald, Finance Critic
(780) 862-5661 (780) 914-5270