The Editor,

Re: "Casino fears are unfounded," the Now, Nov. 15.

Here are some figures from a socioeconomic impact research study commissioned by the B.C. government to assess the impacts of gambling between 2004 and 2006 in Surrey and three other Lower Mainland communities.

Blue Thorn Research and Analysis Group found that almost 60 per cent of Surrey residents believed that the harms of gambling outweighed the benefits and that these negative attitudes increased significantly by eight per cent over the three-year period.

The research showed that a substantial portion of regular gamblers (24 out of 96 surveyed) were problem gamblers.

It also found that there was no statistically identifiable increase in overall community employment. City planners interviewed at that time expressed some concern about an "over saturation of the market."

Please consider these findings when coming to a conscientious decision on this casino proposal in South Surrey.

Hugh Rothe, Surrey