CBC deserves an award for exposing likely criminal activity involving the BC Lottery Corporation. It took the CBC, with all its legal resources, four years to fight the secretive Campbell government and its agent, the Lotteries Corporation, in order to gain access to documents under freedom of information legislation. All Solicitor General John van Dongen could say was: "…certainly there is a law in place for access to information and my expectation from my ministry is that that law is followed." Who's he trying to kid? Anyone who has attempted to get information under BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Legislation knows it is a joke. In 2004, Blair Lekstrom, a Campbell government backbencher chaired a Legislative Committee that recommended changes in the legislation which the Freedom of Information and Privacy Commissioner has begged for ever since. Don't hold your breath waiting for the Campbell government to act; it doesn't want to have more embarrassments like the one CBC has uncovered.

The CBC exposé dealt with money laundering; it noted that: "In 2006, Ontario casinos reported possible cases worth more than $15.5 million dollars, while in B.C.'s casinos, only $60,000 dollars in suspicious transactions were reported."

It should come as no surprise that BC's government turns a blind eye to illegal activities in its casinos. Just look at the 2008-2001 Service Plan for BCLC. The Plan is focused on damage control from the last scandal involving the Corporation, potential retailer fraud that was exposed by the Ombudsman but denied by the government. Nothing in the plan deals with loan sharking and money laundering.

BCLC is expected to "earn" $1.035 million for the government in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2008. The Corporation states that it is required by the government to: "Optimize financial performance within the gaming and social policy framework established by the Shareholder." Read that as directions to rake in as much cash for the government as possible, while ignoring little things like criminal activity. When he was in Opposition, Gordon Campbell criticized gambling, but under his watch as Premier gambling revenues for government have grown by 250% from $414 million in 2000-2001. The government is hooked on gambling.

You won't find a government or BCLC news release on the topic, but while it was fighting bad press on overlooking criminal activity, BCLC quietly launched another form of Internet gambling. For $2 a game, you can now play "instant Lotto 649". This is from the government that said it would never allow the highly addictive video lottery terminals (the most common form of slot machine now found in most casinos). Thanks to Gordon Campbell British Columbians can now gamble from the convenience of their home computers. At least we know that the money launderers have to make a trip to their local casinos to wash the big bucks; only the suckers blow their money on the government's Internet "games".