Gaming Not in Cards for BC Ferries

The Government of B.C. has announced it will not proceed with a gaming pilot on board a BC Ferries’ vessel.
This decision follows a Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure review of a business analysis undertaken by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), with input from BC Ferries.
The ministry agrees with the analysis, which determined that the potential revenues from gaming would not generate a return on investment at this time. Instead, BCLC estimated a loss of approximately $240,000 a year because of added staffing, IT and equipment.
Introducing gaming on board BC Ferries was an idea generated through government’s public engagement on the coastal ferry service as an option to increase revenue for the BC Ferries. The business case ultimately did not support this idea.
“British Columbians have told the government to explore new and innovative ways to keep ferry fare increases affordable, which is why we explored the idea of introducing gaming on the BC Ferries,” says BC Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone.
“While the BC Lottery Corporation’s analysis showed that this idea wouldn’t make money,” Stone adds, “we’ll remain open to other revenue-generating services. We’re encouraged by the ferry commissioner’s recent preliminary price-cap ruling, which confirms that progress is being made in breaking the back on unaffordable fare increases and getting them in line with long-term inflation.”
As part of the mid-life upgrades to the Spirit Class vessels, BC Ferries is planning to expand the gift shop and relocate the coffee shop on board these vessels. Actions such as these, which take advantage of available on-board space to increase revenues, are in keeping with the government’s vision for an affordable, efficient and sustainable coastal ferry service.