British Columbia Lottery Corporation Sued By Casino Developer

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) was the first in Canada to offer state licensed online gambling and has been a leader in gambling regulation. But today it is in the news for the wrong reasons. The lottery corporation is being sued by casino and gaming developer Pinnacle Gaming Solutions. Pinnacle Gaming Solutions is owned by David Moretto from North Vancouver. He filed a lawsuit on January 8 this year claiming that his company was fraudulently made to believe that BCLC would assign them the work of opening gaming facilities on North Shore. However the work was later awarded exclusively to another company.

Moretto elaborated on his allegations. He stated that Pinnacle Gaming Solutions was retained by several First Nations, including the Tsleil-Waututh, in October 2007 to help them develop gaming facilities on their lands. A North Shore News report had referred to an agreement between Moretto and the Tsleil-Waututh that made Pinnacle Gaming Solutions the agent in developing a casino on the land. Pinnacle's responsibilities included seeking permission from BCLC and completing the required formalities for obtaining the license. In turn, Moretto’s company would receive a percentage of the casino's gross revenues if the project fructified.

The discussions continued from 2008 through 2015. During this long period representatives from Pinnacle and BCLC met several times to talk about the gaming facilities project for the First Nations. Even BCLC presidents Michael Graydon and Jim Lightbody had participated. Pinnacle has stated that they were given the impression from BCLC that there was a very high chance of approval for the casino project. Both parties were agreed upon the economic viability of the proposed gaming facilities and its potential to generate profits for the region. BCLC was also upbeat about a casino on Tsleil-Waututh lands as there were no gaming facilities on the North Shore and no other gaming facilities proposed for the North Shore.

To Moretto’s surprise, in April 2015 BCLC granted Playtime Gaming Centres the exclusive right to develop a gambling facility on the North Shore. The Pinnacle Gaming Solutions stated, “BCLC improperly and unlawfully granted Mr. Tom Nellis and Playtime Gaming the exclusive right to develop a gaming facility on the North Shore in or about 2009 and failed to disclose that fact to Pinnacle despite years of negotiations with Pinnacle.” Therefore Pinnacle is now seeking general, special, aggravated and punitive damages, for the substantial financial losses incurred during the course of the representations made to BCLC.

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