Casino operator Pinnacle Gaming Solutions, owned by North Vancouver resident David Moretto, has filed a lawsuit against British Columbia and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, arguing that it was led to believe that it would be granted a license for running a gambling venue on Tsleil-Waututh land.
Mr. Moretto and his company first started talks with First Nations leaders back in 2007 for the establishment of casinos on their lands in order to boost local economy. Officials for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation were among those interested in hosting gambling venues on their land.
Later on, Pinnacle and the Tsleil-Waututh reached an agreement for the gambling company to become an agent in establishing a gambling hall on their land. The casino operator was expected to negotiate a license with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. In return, Mr. Moretto’s company was to receive a share of the gross revenue generated by the casino.
The gambling company said in its filing to the British Columbia Supreme Court that over the period between 2008 and 2015, it discussed the matter with the lottery corporation and studied whether the construction of gambling facilities on First Nations land would be viable enough. Pinnacle then concluded that such casinos would probably earn considerable profits.
According to Mr. Moretto, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation showed strong signs that his company would eventually be granted a casino license and the project for the construction of a casino on Tsleil-Waututh would be materialized.
The gambling operator said in its court filing that the lottery corporation acted as if it supported such project as there were no gambling halls on British Columbia’s North Shore, nor were there other proposals for building such halls.
The results from a June 2012 study were presented to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and those showed that there was indeed market demand as well as suitable conditions for Tsleil-Waututh’s proposal.
However, the license for the construction of casinos on the North Shore was eventually granted to Playtime Gaming. Following that announcement, Mr. Moretto filed the suit arguing that his company had suffered considerable financial losses. He also asked the British Columbia Supreme Court to be awarded damages due to “negligent misrepresentation and interference with economic relations.”
To be more precise, Pinnacle argued that the representations made by the lottery corporation about the company potentially being granted a license for the establishment of a casino were “entirely false.” In addition, the corporation seems to have failed to discuss the matter with First Nations leaders prior to granting the exclusive license to Playtime.
