Official: the Quebec City Gaming Lounge will not be transformed into a casino

After several months of talks, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has finally given up on the idea of transforming the Quebec City Gaming Lounge into a casino. The presence of a population considered more vulnerable and the competition with the Casino de Charlevoix justify this decision.

A decision that satisfies the elected officials of Charlevoix

It was the Minister of Finance Eric Girard who announced the news: the Quebec City Gaming Fair will not become a casino . Since the launch of this idea more than a year ago by the CAQ, many voices had been raised against the project. In particular, local elected officials feared possible negative repercussions on the Charlevoix casino and on the casinos present on cruise ships calling at Quebec City.

Insofar as the Charlevoix casino belongs to the government of Quebec, this new competition would have been harmful for the different parties. The Minister therefore seems to have made the best possible decision, even though the final opportunity study commissioned from Loto-Québec had not even been completed yet. The mayor of La Malbaie, Michel Couturier, said he was delighted with a decision taken, according to him, in response to a logical argument.

The future of the Quebec City Gaming Fair in dotted lines

In addition to the fear of competing with other gaming establishments, another reason for explanation may justify this step back by the government. Indeed, the Game Room is located at the Place Fleur de Lys shopping center in the Vanier area, in a disadvantaged area of the capital. Since moving in 2014, the establishment's revenues have doubled, from $20.2 million to $48.6 million per year. The Public Health of the Capitale-Nationale has always been very critical of this location, anxious to keep video lottery machines away from the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

With this in mind, the Quebec City Gaming Fair will soon change its location, which was also one of the promises of the CAQ during its election campaign, and it would therefore have been curious to replace it with a casino... For the moment, the Minister of the Capitale-Nationale Geneviève Guilbault acknowledged that several locations were being considered, but that no final decision had yet been made.

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