British Columbia’s online gambling revenue could be shared with the Canadian province’s casino host cities, but only if the government monopoly agrees to it.

Last week, a Kamloops city councillor suggested that the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) ought to share revenue from its PlayNow online gambling site with cities whose casinos have been ordered to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, local media reported that the province’s attorney general had responded to this suggestion by saying any change to casino cities’ revenue-sharing deals with the province “would need to be formally requested by the municipalities and approved by both parties.”

Kamloops currently gets a 10% cut of gaming revenue generated by the city’s two casinos, both of which are managed by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. The city’s share of casino revenue totaled C$2.5m (US$1.8m) in the most recent fiscal year but that flow of funds halted after the government ordered BCLC’s casinos to close on March 16.