Map shows VLT locations in the central area of HRM overlaid on census tracts showing median family income. Click on map to see a larger image

Analysis and map by King’s Investigative Workshop

You are four times more likely to find a VLT in your neighbourhood if you live in an area of Halifax Regional Municipality with the lowest incomes than if you live in an area with the highest incomes, an analysis by the King’s investigative workshop shows.

Using VLT location data supplied by the Alcohol and Gaming Division of the Nova Scotia government, and Statistics Canada census information, we placed locations and numbers of VLTs in census tracts. The tracts are standardized geographic areas that approximate neighbourhoods. We then divided the census tracts into quartiles by median family income and incidence of low income, both as measured by the 2006 census, and calculated the number of VLTs and VLT outlets per 10,000 people in each quartile.

The shaded areas on this map are Statistics Canada census tracts, showing median family income quartiles by census tract. The dots represent the locations of businesses, clubs and legions with vlts.

Research shows lower-income and unemployed people are more likely to have gambling problems than others.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Alcohol and Gaming Division, Labour and Workforce Development.