Vancouver’s Parq Casino will be able to increase the number of slot machines it hosts on its floor by 50% after Vancouver City Council narrowly approved the proposed expansion on Feb. 17.
At a public hearing on Tuesday, councillors voted 5-4 to allow Parq to add up to 300 more slot machines, taking its total capacity from 600 to 900. The casino and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) formally requested the expansion last year after the council voted in 2024 to amend an existing moratorium on casino expansion, thereby allowing the city’s brick-and-mortar gaming venues to apply for greater capacity.
“BCLC is pleased that the City of Vancouver has approved the expansion of regulated options for Vancouver players,” a spokesperson from the crown corporation told Canadian Gaming Business. “This will help keep entertainment-spend local and generate additional municipal and provincial revenue to support public services and community programs, while doing so within a strong framework of player health, safety and community protection. ”
“Our mission is to revolutionize gambling entertainment through engaging experiences that build and benefit communities,” BCLC President and CEO Pat Davis told councillors at the hearing.
BCLC CEO says Parq is lagging behind
Adding 300 slots will be the biggest expansion of the Parq Casino floor since it moved to its current Smithe Street site in 2017. The change will not affect the maximum number of table games allowed at the location, which is 75, and will not require any extension of the physical premises. Parq said in its application that the 72,000-square-foot, two-storey casino has enough space for as many as 1,200 slot machines on its floor.
Speaking to councillors on Tuesday, Davis stressed that since Vancouver council implemented a moratorium on gambling expansion 15 years ago, the city’s population grew more than 20% while casino slot capacity remained the same.
“That means that many Vancouver players are leaving the city to play elsewhere because the casinos here are not meeting their expectations,” he said.
While several casinos already exist in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, with nine in the Metro Vancouver area, Parq is the only major venue in the downtown core, situated adjacent to BC Place stadium. BCLC and Parq have argued that the casino is operating far under capacity, and far below the level of some other Metro Vancouver casinos. For example, Grand Villa Casino in Burnaby has 1,300 slot machines, River Rock in Richmond has 1,100 and Cascades Casino in Langley has 1,000 slots.
“We know that most players potentially impacted by the requested change are already gambling, but are doing so outside of Vancouver,” Davis continued. “In fact, 71% per cent of BCLC’s gambling revenue from Vancouver players is actually flowing through other Lower Mainland casinos. That means, simply put, that the city is losing out on important revenue from its own residents.”
Parq projects $1M in extra revenue
In B.C., municipalities that host casinos receive 10% of the net gaming revenue from casinos within their jurisdiction. The City of Vancouver reaped $6.1 million from Parq in the 2024-25 fiscal year, and the casino projects that 300 extra slots will raise another $1 million per year.
Parq Casino Vice President of Marketing Karen Gray added that, as part of the application, Parq has also agreed to increase its payments to the province under an existing social responsibility agreement by $300,000 per year.
Several people testified in opposition to the expansion, mostly citing problem gambling concerns. Unite Here Local 40, a B.C. union for hospitality workers, claimed that more than 3,000 letters were sent to councillors opposing the expansion.
However, Coun. Lenny Zhou told the room on Tuesday that the worries were overblown.
“I feel there’s some fear mongering about this expansion,” said Zhou, who voted in favour of the change. “We are not building a brand-new casino. And even with the increase, the number of slot machines in this location, it is still much less than Burnaby, Richmond, even Langley.”
