By Stanley Tromp

Younger casino players in British Columbia are significantly increasing high-risk gambling behaviours, while “gambling literacy” has declined over the past year, according to data from the province’s gaming provider, the BC Lottery Corporation.

This and other concerns were outlined in the Player Health Tracker Report by Ipsos Research, released in July 2024 and commissioned by BCLC. The Bureau obtained six reports totaling 903 pages through a Freedom of Information request. The findings point to an alarming rise in high-risk gambling among younger bettors in the second quarter of fiscal 2024/2025—raising fresh questions for BCLC, an agency previously criticized for prioritizing revenue over social responsibility.

To address this, Ipsos recommended that “BCLC could consider targeting younger casino players in its campaigns geared toward casino players, with messaging related to increasing gambling literacy and promoting safer gaming.”

The concerning trend comes under the watch of Premier David Eby. In 2018, when Eby served as B.C.’s Attorney General, he told CBC that his government should be doing much more to help gambling addicts.

Eby also pointed out that his NDP government had moved responsibility for the gaming industry from Finance to the Attorney General’s office in 2017, because “the B.C. Lottery Corporation should not be responsible for both revenue generation and regulation.” That decision was later reversed, with oversight returning to the Finance Ministry.

In a warning back in 2020, an internal briefing note from the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety highlighted the “rapidly changing” online betting market as a source of mounting risks.

The new survey results were based on 498 interviews with adults in British Columbia who had played at least one BCLC game in the past year. Three of the reports track changes in gambling behaviours from the first to the third quarter of fiscal year 2024/25—that is, from April to December 2024.

PlayNow.com is BCLC’s internet gambling platform, featuring online table games, slots, and sports betting. It was launched in 2004 and later expanded to other western provinces.

In the first quarter (April–June 2024), “PGSI behaviours increased significantly among PlayNow players,” according to the Ipsos report. (The Problem Gambling Severity Index, or PGSI, is a nine-item self-report scale measuring risky gambling behaviours in the general population.)

The highest-risk PlayNow users were identified as young urban males—“the least likely to feel responsible for what happens to them.” Their gambling motivations include “feeling tense and wanting to be in the zone,” factors not observed in other segments. They were also found to be the least likely to engage in responsible play, despite recognizing risks in their own behaviour.

In the second quarter (July–September 2024), PlayNow players’ high-risk PGSI scores trended upward, while gambling literacy declined. Ipsos warned: “Given that PlayNow players remain a more at-risk group, BCLC could focus on reinforcing gambling literacy and safer gambling behaviours.” It advised close monitoring to identify whether preventative actions were needed.

In the third quarter (October–December 2024), Ipsos observed a tentative improvement: “High-risk PGSI has declined significantly among PlayNow players, although the shift should be interpreted with caution due to lower base sizes… high gambling literacy has rebounded.”

Overall, Ipsos found that online players demonstrated stronger belief in gambling myths and more problematic behaviours than retail players. Their pre-commitment habits—such as setting spending limits—and overall gambling literacy were weaker by comparison.

Sports betting remained a distinct concern. “Given that online sports bettors continue to be a higher-risk group,” Ipsos wrote, “BCLC could benefit from maintaining targeted initiatives that tackle the specific challenges of sports betting and promote safer gambling practices, especially during major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the NHL and NBA play-offs in the coming months.”

Casino players were a more at-risk group in the first quarter. In the second quarter, there was a significant drop in gambling literacy among this segment. But by the third quarter, Ipsos reported some improvements: “Casino players display some improvement in high-risk PGSI, high pre-commitment, and high gambling literacy this quarter.” Ipsos attributed this to a higher proportion of casual casino players compared to moderate or high-frequency players.

The public was also surveyed on which casinos or gaming community centres they had visited in the past 12 months. River Rock Casino in Richmond was the most reported location, with 27% of respondents naming it. This was followed by Vancouver’s Parq Casino (24%), Burnaby’s Grand Villa Casino (23%), and Coquitlam’s Hard Rock Casino (20%). Other B.C. casinos saw significantly lower visitation numbers.

However, from January to December 2024, “casino players are significantly more likely to believe several gambling myths compared to last year,” Ipsos warned. These included beliefs that: (1) casino staff can change game outcomes, (2) some slot machines are “hot” and due for a big jackpot, and (3) a payout rate of 85% means players will get back $85 of every $100 spent.

Ipsos cautioned that any gains in safer gambling behaviours and literacy may not be sustainable if belief in these myths continues to grow. It recommended that BCLC intensify efforts to dispel such misinformation.

Keno players were also flagged as high-risk during the second and third quarters, and showed low gambling literacy. “When looking at product cross-play, most Keno online players also play Keno at retail locations, and thus online players also exhibit a more at-risk profile,” Ipsos reported. (In February 2024, a B.C. player won $1 million playing Keno—the largest payout in BCLC history.)

BCLC has stated that its GameSense program provides players with information about how gambling works and offers tools to support informed decisions. The program aims to improve gambling literacy by helping players understand the odds of winning, distinguish between chance- and skill-based games, dispel common myths, and locate available resources.

However, in the second quarter, pollsters found that “awareness of a safer gambling education program in BC significantly decreased, as did awareness of the GameSense program across all business units.” In the third quarter, results were mixed: awareness of a safer gambling education program improved, and GameSense name recognition held steady, but both familiarity with and usage of the program declined.

The Bureau also obtained BCLC’s Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Tracker reports by Harris Insights for November 2024 (Q2) and February 2025 (Q3). Many pages were redacted by BCLC on the grounds that their release would cause financial harm.

These tracker documents monitor the corporation’s core business indicators and are reported to shareholders in annual statements and service plans. They are also used internally to evaluate performance across business units.

The Q2 report noted that “lottery-only players are declining and shifting to including casino and PlayNow games.” It also found that trust in BCLC games among facility players was significantly higher that quarter. Notably, PlayNow.com sports bettors used illegal betting websites significantly less in Q2 compared to Q1.

In Q3, cross-play between lottery, casino, and PlayNow increased from FY2023/24 to FY2024/25, as did the number of casual casino players and overall participation on PlayNow. At the same time, casual lottery play—such as Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, Daily Grand, pull tabs, and scratch tickets—declined from Q2 back to Q1 FY2024/25 levels. Ipsos attributed this drop mainly to a loss of casual retail players, although overall lottery participation over the past year remained stable.

Finally, The Bureau reviewed a December 2024 report on BCLC’s “Social Purpose and Brand,” prepared by Unity Insights and Angus Reid.

Their survey data showed that core players across all BCLC facilities—casinos, community gaming centres, and bingo halls—had increased quarter-over-quarter. However, PlayNow sports bettors were increasingly using other websites for wagering, and the number of users betting exclusively on PlayNow declined.

The report also evaluated BCLC’s Integrated Enterprise Strategy, which aims to “increase the positive community and economic impact of gambling entertainment… and to leverage the BCLC brand to bring the commitment to social purpose to life.”

“Generally, consumers seem to articulate a sense of skepticism when it comes to any organization claiming to provide social benefits,” the pollsters wrote. “Virtue signaling was brought up in a negative light (moral grandstanding), where many did not understand how an organization could exist to provide social benefits while balancing profit generation.”

The report posed a direct challenge to BCLC’s leadership: What is the goal of its Social Purpose platform? “Are we trying to use our commitment to social purpose as a lever for acquisition, or is this truly about uplifting a social cause regardless of the business outcome?”

The authors suggested reframing the approach to center on the public. “BCLC players are committed to social purpose, and we thank them for that,” they wrote—before floating a new brand slogan: “BCLC = British Columbians Love Community.”

Stanley Tromp is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Political Science department and an expert on Freedom of Information.