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bratboy wrote:

This reminds me I need to plan another trip to Vegas soon.

wanna make a road trip out of it?

Pithecanthropus wrote:

Isn't that a little like suing a brewery or distillery for your alcoholism?

Perhaps, but lets be honest this sounds like more fun.

nerd

KHannon wrote:

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Quebec gambling addicts file class-action lawsuit against province's gambling commission

A class-action lawsuit brought by a group of pathological gamblers is seeking compensation from Loto-Quebec for their addiction treatments.

With the plaintiffs claiming around 119,000 gamblers can trace their addictions to VLTs, a judgment could cost Loto-Quebec upwards of $500 million, excluding exemplary damages.

"Despite the fact that studies on the dangers of pathological gaming and its treatments were known, the defendant didn't consider its obligation to warn users of the dangers of dependence," the statement of claim reads.

Brochu maintains that when the machines were introduced, they were equipped with misleading warnings about the dangers of addiction.

"In using the message 'In moderation a game remains a game,' the defendant puts the responsibility of pathological gambling on the user," the lawsuit states.

Loto-Quebec counters that it has better tailored its messages over time and increasingly invests in resources for problem gamblers.

A court decision last year forced the gaming commission to release documents about gambling-related suicides at Quebec casinos.

The documents, which Loto-Quebec fought hard to keep secret, provided a grim look at what has become an important revenue stream for the government.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. If the gambling commission really is found liable, many governments will have to pay through the nose. Gambling has become pretty widespread across the continent ... will this lawsuit change that, if it succeeds?

I am not too familiar with the operations of the Canadian court system, but in the United States, these types of mass exposure class actions often follow a similar course: the defendants will file a motion to dismiss to try to get the case thrown out for failing to state a viable claim.  If they lose there, discovery will commence and at the close of that the defendants will try to get the case thrown out at the summary judgment stage. 

If they lose there, the defendants almost routinely settle (even if there is a 99% chance they will win) because that 1% risk of having a cataclysmic loss is too much than they can bear.  The fact that this is a government agency would probably alter the analysis some, of course.

As I understand it, the attempts to have it thrown out failed so it's going to trial. It was originally filed in 2001.

ShnickyShnack wrote:

KHannon wrote:

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Quebec gambling addicts file class-action lawsuit against province's gambling commission

A class-action lawsuit brought by a group of pathological gamblers is seeking compensation from Loto-Quebec for their addiction treatments.

With the plaintiffs claiming around 119,000 gamblers can trace their addictions to VLTs, a judgment could cost Loto-Quebec upwards of $500 million, excluding exemplary damages.

"Despite the fact that studies on the dangers of pathological gaming and its treatments were known, the defendant didn't consider its obligation to warn users of the dangers of dependence," the statement of claim reads.

Brochu maintains that when the machines were introduced, they were equipped with misleading warnings about the dangers of addiction.

"In using the message 'In moderation a game remains a game,' the defendant puts the responsibility of pathological gambling on the user," the lawsuit states.

Loto-Quebec counters that it has better tailored its messages over time and increasingly invests in resources for problem gamblers.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. If the gambling commission really is found liable, many governments will have to pay through the nose. Gambling has become pretty widespread across the continent ... will this lawsuit change that, if it succeeds?

I am not too familiar with the operations of the Canadian court system, but in the United States, these types of mass exposure class actions often follow a similar course: the defendants will file a motion to dismiss to try to get the case thrown out for failing to state a viable claim.  If they lose there, discovery will commence and at the close of that the defendants will try to get the case thrown out at the summary judgment stage. 

If they lose there, the defendants almost routinely settle (even if there is a 99% chance they will win) because that 1% risk of having a cataclysmic loss is too much than they can bear.  The fact that this is a government agency would probably alter the analysis some, of course.

As I understand it, the attempts to have it thrown out failed so it's going to trial. It was originally filed in 2001.

I'll bet dollars to donuts it settles before the start of the trial.

It would be more exciting if the gaming industry just bought the jury.

That's the trouble with making things like gambling addiction diseases. Addictions of any type are serious problems but I dont think they ought to be considered a disease the way they have come to be.

Made me go blind, they did!

I never thought it was a secret that the entire purpose of the gambling industry was to make a profit by exploiting human weakness.  I mean, its kind of a no-brainer.

I mean, If people weren't allowed to do anything to screw each other over, we would have complete anarchy!