Hastings slots foes fail in court

The Hastings Conservancy, a citizens' group in British Columbia, has lost a court appeal it hoped would force the removal of slot machines at Hastings. The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the group's appeal of the provincial Supreme Court decision that allowed slots at Hastings.

The Conservancy lost its original suit, in which it claimed the city of Vancouver did not have the jurisdiction to pass zoning bylaws that allowed slots at Hastings. Thursday, a three-member panel upheld the Supreme Court ruling.

Hastings has 150 slots in a temporary facility and is preparing to install an additional 450 slots.

The city of Vancouver originally granted approval for slots at Hastings in August 2004.