Osoyoos Gives Approval for Proposed Casino

OSOYOOS – The Osoyoos Town Council has given its unanimous approval for a proposed casino on Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) land during their last council meeting. With the Town Council’s approval through a letter of support to the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, Osoyoos hopes to have a new casino in the near future. If approved by the Enforcement Branch, the OIB will need to receive a license before it can build and run the gaming facility.

The request from the OIB stems from their proposal of building a 6,000-7,500 square-foot community casino. Inside the casino, the OIB have outlined a proposal of 150 slot machines, 100 bingo machines, and an off-track betting area. The proposal also includes the construction of a 50-60 seat bistro that would take up 1,500 square-feet.

The construction of the casino can only be good news for the town of Osoyoos as noted by Chief Administrative Officer, Allan Chabot, who says, “It seems as though this provides some positive economic benefits, that could potentially more than outweigh any negative socio-economic impacts.”

Chabot also went on to explain that the casino’s revenue would be paid to the band and not to the Town of Osoyoos because the centre would be built on band land.