North delta gambler sues lottery corporation, two casinos
By Christopher Poon, Surrey Now October 9, 2012
Lawsuit plaintiff Joy Ross was also an organizer of a recent failed attempt to set a record for world's largest human peace sign in Cloverdale.
Photograph by: AMY REID , Surrey NOW
A North Delta woman is suing the B.C. Lottery Corp. (BCLC) and two local casinos after she claims an exclusion program failed to stop her from gambling away hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The suit was filed in the Supreme Court of Canada by Joy Ross, who claims that due to the negligence of the BCLC and casino operators, she was able to enter casinos and gamble away $331,000, despite putting herself on the casinos' exclusion lists.
Other than the BCLC, the others named in the suit are Orangeville Raceway Ltd., owners of Cloverdale's Fraser Downs Casino and Racetrack; Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Inc., owners of Langley's Cascades Casino.
According to Ross' lawyer, Jim Hanson, the case is the first of its type in Canada to go before judgment.
"From our perspective, the case involves the rights and responsibilities of the government and casino industries in relation to addictive gamblers who have excluded themselves of the casinos of British Columbia," said Hanson.
"The casinos and government owed addicted gamblers a duty of care once they have placed themselves on the exclusion lists and that duty of care was breached."
The exclusion program is a BCLC initiative where casino patrons can voluntarily blacklist themselves from B.C.'s casinos. In her suit, Ross claims she got around the policy by providing fake names.
"We want to get it either scrapped or enforced," said Ross. "The problem becomes that people like myself rely on programs like that and by the time you get into it, your addiction is really ingrained."
As a deterrent, anyone found in a casino after placing themselves on the exclusion list can be fined for up to $5,000 and is ineligible for major winnings and it's there that Hanson and Ross are also alleging wrongdoing.
"From our point of view, a very important legal issue that must be decided is who should keep the profits of any gambling that takes place by addicts after they exclude themselves," said Hanson. "Is it right for the government and casino industry to keep the profits of gambling when they know the profits have come from addicted gamblers after their exclusions?"
"It's a stark example of the house always winning."
A spokesperson for the BCLC said they would not be discussing the case during the timeframe of court proceedings, out of respect for the courts.
"What we can say is that, as the entity responsible for operating commercial gambling on behalf of the province, BCLC takes its obligations very seriously," said the spokesperson. "We offer the voluntary self-exclusion program as a voluntary resource for people who wish to exclude themselves from B.C. gaming venues and PlayNow.com.
"Our position in the action is, among other things, that BCLC has complied with the Responsible Gambling Standards set out by the province's Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch in regard to voluntary exclusion."
Read more:http://www.thenownewspaper.com/news/North+delta+gambler+sues+lottery+corporation+casinos/7361706/story.html#ixzz28qZrn6g6
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