$50 Million Settlement To Gambling Addicts

Our Friends to our north offered the following that raises additional issues that need to be considered by an independent cost benefit analysis committee --

Canadian Government Pays $50 Million Settlement To Gambling Addicts

Below are three breaking news stories on the settlement of a class action lawsuit by video slot machine gamblers against the Quebec Lottery Commission, which owns and operates the slot machines. The suit alleged that video slot machines cause addiction and financial and other harm to gamblers.



Two questions for backers of state-owned or state-licensed casinos:


1. Is sovereign immunity sufficient to provide certain protection for New Hampshire taxpayers from all liability for the costs of gambling addiction if the state were to legalize?

2. Do rosy-scenario revenue projections factor in risk of multi-billion dollar liability claims being successful?
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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100107/que_lottery_100107/20100107?hub=Canada
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 09:20:55 -0500
Loto-Quebec reaches settlement with gambling addicts
The Canadian Press Jan. 7 2010

MONTREAL - A former compulsive gambler who tried to commit suicide by jumping off a Montreal bridge in 2003, Did Belizaire says he'll never go back to playing video lottery terminals.

"I'm in a wheelchair because of that so it would be pathetic for me to get busy in the morning, get all dressed up and go and park myself in front of a machine," he said Thursday. "I'm really done with it."

The 43-year-old is now a paraplegic.

He was speaking after Quebec's lottery commission confirmed Thursday it had reached a tentative multimillion-dollar agreement to compensate thousands of addicted gamblers.

The out-of-court settlement of the class-action lawsuit has national implications because similar lawsuits are still underway in different provinces, including Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The deal, reportedly worth $50 million instead of the $500 million sought by the plaintiffs, stems from a lawsuit which was filed against the Quebec lottery commission in 2001 by gamblers addicted to VLTs.

Belizaire says when he first started playing VLTs more than 20 years ago he would put down $10 or $20, but through the years that turned into $100, $150 and even more.



"There's no way you can afford spending that money without the consequences that come with it," he said.

Belizaire eventually ended up having to borrow $1,000 from a loan shark with "$50 interest per day."

He said that on Sept. 19, 2003, he stole $500 from the petty cash of a hotel where he was working as a concierge.

"My plan was to go to the casino, play, and make enough money to give to the loan sharks so I could breathe easier.

"(But) I lost everything, so when I walked out of the casino I did the equation and that was it. I had to end my life."

After his failed suicide attempt, he went into rehab and later joined EmJEU, a coalition that focuses on ethics at Loto-Quebec.

Belizaire notes the agreed-to settlement provides compensation only for between 1994 and 2002.

But he says many compulsive gamblers received therapy during that period from clinics that were not recognized by the government.

"The whole court thing has been done for nothing because it's a minority of people who will get money back."

Loto-Quebec spokesman Jean-Pierre Roy said some people will have to show proof they followed therapy during the 1990s.

Belizaire also complains the deal does not recognize that VLTs are the cause of gambling.

"They're saying that gambling in general is the cause of this, they're saying that a lottery ticket is the same as the machines," he said.

"But I don't know of anybody who tried to kill himself over a lottery ticket."

The plaintiffs say around 119,000 Quebec gamblers can trace their addiction to VLTs.

Sol Boxenbaum, a consumer advocate and another spokesman for EmJEU, says Loto-Quebec doesn't want a court judgment that might set a legal precedent.

He believes other jurisdictions have had their eyes on the Quebec case.

"Any time there's a lawsuit involving Loto-Quebec, or the Ontario Lottery Corporation or whoever, it's never a completed trial," said Boxenbaum.

"If you get a judgment then you have jurisprudence, (but) if you're getting a settlement it means you didn't win."

Boxenbaum also points out it's the provincial Health Department that will decide on the amount each person receives in compensation.

He's urging the claimants to reject the deal "because it's really not a fair settlement to anybody -- except their lawyers," who he says will get $2.7 million.

Loto-Quebec says details of the tentative agreement will be made public Jan. 16.

A hearing will then be held March 8 in Quebec City. Plaintiffs unhappy with the deal will get a chance to speak before a judge, who must then decide whether to approve the settlement.

© 2009 All Rights Reserved.


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http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=2417572
Loto-Quebec strikes tentative deal with addicted gamblers
Phil Couvrette, Canwest News Service
January 7, 2010

Groups that monitor the gambling industry were divided on Thursday after Loto-Quebec confirmed it reached a tentative multimillion-dollar settlement in a lawsuit involving thousands of compulsive gamblers.

With cases pending in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Ontario, the settlement has ramifications well beyond Quebec, said Sol Boxenbaum, a consumer advocate.
"The eyes of the world are on us and this is a very significant case," he said.

Jean-Pierre Roy of Loto-Quebec said on Thursday details about the Quebec agreement were limited as the settlement process is ongoing. He said a notice on the tentative out-of-court settlement would be published in Quebec newspapers on Jan. 16 with a hearing in Quebec City scheduled in March to determine whether the deal is accepted.

A group of pathological gamblers filed a class-action lawsuit in 2001 against the provincial lottery agency seeking compensation for addicts, estimated by the plaintiffs to number 119,000 in the province.

A lawyer and recovering gambler, Jean Brochu, filed the legal action claiming video lottery terminals (VLTs) are tied to pathological gambling. He also blamed the government agency for playing down the dangers of VLTs.

When the hearing began in 2008, a lawyer for Loto-Quebec said in his opening statement that no scientific study has proven that VLTs can cause addiction and added that the government is doing a lot to help problem gamblers deal with their addictions.

The plaintiffs want their addiction treatments and other fees reimbursed, for an average amount of $5,000, which would put the claim in the area of $700-million if every claim was accepted. But by some accounts, the deal could be worth much less, and closer to $50-million.

Mr. Roy said Loto-Quebec could not provide any amount of a possible deal in part because it did not know how many people would come forward with a claim.

"We can't indicate a definitive dollar amount because it's up to people who have undergone therapy from 1994 to 2002 to claim a reimbursement of therapy fees," a claim he said had to be filed with supporting document. "But we're talking about millions of dollars."

Reaction to the news of a settlement divided observers.

"I think it's a good idea to come to a settlement with that group. It's terrific news," said Monique Cantin of Gambling Health and Referral.

But Ms. Cantin added she wasn't entirely surprised by the news.

"Since 2001, Quebec's Health Ministry has been paying for the treatment for people suffering from compulsive gambling," she said.

Mr. Boxenbaum said an out-of-court settlement was to be expected, but called for claimants to reject the settlement.

"This settlement is completely unreasonable - it just gave everything to Loto-Quebec and $2,750,000 to the law firm," while the gamblers, he insisted, would get little.

"Each case will be decided on its individual merits by the government, not by an independent agency ... and it will only cover people who have received treatment up until 2002 and providing they have the receipts," he said. "In other words, very few people will benefit from this."

© 2010 The National Post Company. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.



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http://www.recentpoker.com/news/lotto-canada-5677.html
LOTO-QUEBEC SETTLES ON PROBLEM GAMBLING CLASS ACTION

1/8/10 - Following a problem gambling class action involving 120 000 players and initiated in 2001, Loto-Quebec has agreed to a multi-million Canadian dollar settlement, reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The provincial government of Quebec, which owns the lottery, has now agreed to reimburse the costs of addiction treatment between 1994 and 2002 to the plaintiffs. The money is to help gambling addicts who were not previously covered by Quebec health insurance. The province began covering the cost of therapy for problem gamblers in 2002.

The plaintiffs originally sought about Cdn$1 billion in damages, but have settled for around Cdn$50 million.

Former journalist Nelson Labrie, the first witness called to testify, told the judge he thought video lottery terminals were ridiculous until he couldnt stop playing them. He went on to describe how his addiction had cost him his home and more than $250 000.

Legal representative for the plaintiffs Roger Garneau said that his clients had succeeded in proving that VLTs are dangerous, but that experts were not able to prove that playing on video lottery terminals caused people to become addicted to gambling.

Not everyone was happy with the result. Agreeing to the settlement was a mistake, said gambling counsellor Sol Boxenbaum, a consultant on the case who felt that the lawsuit could have created a precedent that would have forced Loto-Québec to warn people about the dangers of VLTs.

"How did we give up on a point like that?" Boxenbaum asked. "[There] should have been no question about a settlement unless we get that warning put onto the machines."

Plaintiffs who disagree with the settlement will have an opportunity to state their cases when the agreement comes before a final court hearing on March 8 for ratification by a judge.

CBC reports that VLTs bring in more than one quarter of the provincial gaming corporation's Cdn$3.8-billion in annual revenues.