British Columbia’s gambling monopoly is being asked to share its online gambling riches with local municipalities now that the province’s casinos have all been closed by COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Arjun Singh, a councillor in the city of Kamloops, told his fellow councillors that an unidentified source at the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) had told him that the Crown corporation’s online gambling site PlayNow.com had seen its business ‘increase significantly’ following the pandemic-related closures of BCLC’s casinos.

On March 16, BCLC ordered all casinos, community gaming centers and bingo halls in the province to close following directives issued by the provincial health authority. BCLC controls virtually all gambling in the province, although it farms out day-to-day operational control to third parties.

That closure has negatively impacted the finances of casino host cities like Kamloops, which has two shuttered gaming venues – Cascades Casino Kamloops and Chances Casino Kamloops – both of which are managed by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd.