MLA Committee - Proceeds Distribution and Volunteers

News release        Backgrounder

On September 10, 2009, the Hon. Fred Lindsay (former Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security responsible for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission) appointed a three-member committee to examine aspects of the province’s charitable gaming model.

The committee came in response to concerns from some charities on how proceeds and wait times between events vary throughout the province. Many groups also reported difficulty in recruiting and retaining enough volunteers to support their activities including casino events.

The MLA Committee consists of:

• Chairperson Doug Griffiths, MLA (Battle River-Wainwright), and
  Parliamentary Assistant to the Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security
• Dave Rodney, MLA (Calgary-Lougheed)
• Doug Elniski, MLA (Edmonton-Calder)

The panel will review and make recommendations on how to improve wait times and the pooling of proceeds from licensed casino events to eligible organizations. The members will also review the number of volunteers each group needs to provide to conduct and manage charitable casino events.

Province-wide meetings were held with eligible organizations between October 6–15, 2009 and on November 5–6. Many of these groups also made written submissions to the MLA Committee by November 20. A final report with recommendations will be completed by March 31, 2010.

Terms of Reference            Consultation Questions

Proceeds, Wait Times and Population Table

Alberta’s Charitable Gaming Model

Alberta’s unique charitable gaming model benefits eligible organizations by providing them with an opportunity to fundraise through casino events. In 2008-09, almost 3,500 licensed charities earned $252 million in proceeds from casino events. There are 6,972 charitable organizations eligible to conduct and manage a casino event.

• Each of the 19 traditional charitable casinos facilities can accommodate 182 two-day events per year resulting in almost 3,500 casino events annually.
• The province is divided into eight casino regions and eligible organizations are assigned to facilities within their area. Based on geographic constraints and current boundaries, waitlists for a casino event range from 16 to 33 months throughout the province.
• Charities are required to provide between 15 and 25 volunteers per event depending on the size of casino.
• Between April and June of this year, charitable proceeds, per event, ranged from $18,246 in Medicine Hat to $76,109 in Calgary.

The AGLC is responsible for licensing, regulating, and monitoring gaming activities in Alberta. This responsibility includes licensing casino events conducted by charitable and religious organizations and conducting and managing electronic gaming in the province.

Province-wide meetings held

The MLA Committee held meetings throughout the province to gather insights and ideas from eligible groups. Rescheduled meeting dates for Ft. McMurray (November 5) and Grande Prairie (November 6) provided opportunities for MLAs to listen to the input of eligible charitable groups from across Alberta.

Registration for meetings

Representatives of licensed charitable organizations that are slotted for a casino event were able to register a maximum of two representatives to participate in the meetings. An agenda and list of stakeholders was compiled for each regional meeting. Registrations were accepted up to the end of business day on September 25, 2009.

Written submissions

Organizations were encouraged to provide a written submission, which was accepted until the end of the business day on November 20, 2009.