Casino money in the City of Langley: how the host share works

If you have ever wondered why the City of Langley can pay for so much without borrowing, part of the answer is the casino. This page explains how that money gets to the City, what the City has said about it, and why the Township of Langley is not part of the arrangement. We stick to what the published documents say.

How the host share works

British Columbia’s gambling profits flow mostly to the Province. But a local government that hosts a casino gets a share too. BCLC, the Crown corporation that runs the province’s gaming, says municipalities and First Nations that host gaming facilities receive 10% of the net income from those facilities, to support local programs and services. BCLC describes this as part of revenue-sharing agreements with host governments. The Province’s own gambling page says the same thing in general terms: hosting communities get a percentage of casino revenue, which they put toward local services.

The 10% is of net income, so it moves up and down with how the casino does. We could not find the formal name or text of the agreement on a BCLC or provincial page we could open, so we are not quoting one here.

What the City receives

Two official sources give numbers:

• BCLC says $6.91 million in provincial gambling revenue went to the City for hosting the casino in 2025/26, and $135.86 million since 2005.
• The City’s 2026 draft financial plan shows “Prov. Gov’t - Gaming Proceeds” of $7,792,335 as the 2024 actual, and $7.5 million budgeted for each year from 2025 through 2030. The plan notes the casino was closed in 2020 and 2021, and that this forced project delays.

The two sources count different periods (BCLC’s is a 2025/26 provincial fiscal year), so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

What the City says it does with it

According to the financial plan:

• Casino proceeds are one of several sources for the City’s capital improvement plan, alongside reserves, development cost charges, grants and borrowing.
• The plan says more than $91 million in casino proceeds has been put into City infrastructure, which it says avoided borrowing and an estimated 18% tax increase for debt payments.
• Community grants and enterprise funding in the City’s programs are funded only from gaming proceeds.
• The plan describes the City as taking a “balanced, conservative approach” to capital funding that relies less on gaming proceeds over time.

The plan’s table of reserve contributions has no casino line. It lists property taxes and utility fees as the reserve sources. We did not find a separate City policy page on casino revenue, so what is above comes from the financial plan itself.

And the Township?

The host share goes to the local government where the gaming facility is, and BCLC names the City of Langley as the host. We found no host payment to the Township in any source we read. For the bigger picture of how the two Langleys differ, see City vs. Township.

Want to read the budget yourself?

The City’s financial plan is a public document, and council meetings are open. See how to attend or speak at a council meeting and the City of Langley council page.

Something out of date? Tell us.