Renovated Playtime Casino Seeks to Put a 90-Sq-foot Billboard Despite Kelowna Existing Ban

The city of Kelowna is facing a rather difficult situation when it comes to the advertisement related to one of its most successful casino venues. Playtime Casino is willing to install a large electronic billboard above its main entrance, but as it turns out city planners disagree with the proposed plan.

It is no secret to anyone that casino developers and operators dedicate quite the effort to draw as many people to their gaming facilities and advertisement is more than important. This could be done via promotional material, TV ads, or simply by traditional billboards sprinkled throughout the community. Now the recently renovated casino venue overseen by Gateway Casinos announced plans to introduce a bright billboard right above its main entrance, but local planners appear to oppose it.

Casino Venue Faces Billboard Opposition

The decision announced is in direct breach of the recently approved policy which strictly prohibits the use of electronic message boards across a large part of the city. As it has been voted towards the end of August, only cultural, recreational, or institutional organizations should be allowed to have their boards installed in the city, as their incentives for advertising are beneficial to the community and not solely to a given business.

The leading casino operator wants to introduce a 90-square-foot billboard on Water Street where it could be easily spotted by people passing by and cars due to its considerable size. This new addition is planned along with the renovation which has been in progress on site. Some CA$12 million has been invested in the venue in order to completely refurbish it and transform it from Lake City Casino to Playtime Casino Kelowna.

Management of the casino venue first applied for such billboard back in June when there was no ban on such advertisement. Now that the matters have been complicated, Jagtar Nijar, Chief Administrative Officer of Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, hopes to convince the city that such board is just what the region needs at the moment.

Benefits for the Community

The billboard is not only set to promote the location as a gambling facility, but also notify residents of Kelowna about upcoming events to be hosted by the casino location, or any innovations introduced to the gaming facility. Playtime Casino will have the chance to promote any new gaming offerings installed thus elevating its overall performance and drawing new casino patrons to the facility. Even though this is its original purpose, the board will also be utilized for the benefit of the community.

It would be able to display time-sensitive information, such as missing people announcements or updates about wildfire risks or actual wildfire situation in the region. Other than that, there will be no companies advertising products via the proposed board, which is also a crucial selling point, according to the casino management. The city council is going to review the controversial situation on December 4 and vote whether or not the dispensation needed for the billboard should be approved.

The rebranding was finalized this March and the new casino venue launched operation following the initial investment of some CA$3.6 million. The location also welcomes two brand new restaurants providing players with a wide array of dining options, whereas the casino venue itself also underwent renovation and saw the introduction of many new gaming devices. As a result, the floor had the potential to provide 50 more people with permanent employment.