Loto-Quebec Number Comes Up in $50m Settlement
If you're Canadian and you work for Loto-Quebec, one of the country's largest
government-owned lotteries, now is probably not the best time to shout it from
the rooftops, considering that the lottery has just been given an expensive slap
on the hand courtesy of a bunch of VLT gambling addicts.
It seems that a group of gambling addicts launched a class action against
Loto-Quebec, the lottery company they all claim helped turn them into gambling
addicts and/or helped make their gambling addictions even worse thanks to the
lottery's seemingly addictive video lottery terminals (VLTs).
But just when it looked like the gambling addicts were going to have their day
in court, Loto-Quebec settled out of court, paying the plaintiffs a settlement
of $50 million. While this may seem like a lot of money (which of course it is),
bear in mind the addicts originally sought damages of $500 million.
Which raises two questions. The first is why the gambling addicts chose to
accept the settlement and not pursue the case in court, and the second is why
Loto-Quebec was so eager to settle out of court. If I may, I think I can answer
both questions succinctly and with a brevity unique to me.
My answer to the first question is that while many of the plaintiffs reportedly
complained that the $50 million settlement was not nearly large enough, most
were smart enough to understand that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush' and so voted to accept it. They took what they could while they could.
Plus it's no secret that class action cases, while high profile, are often long
and drawn out and don't always work out in the favour of the plaintiffs. Add to
that the fact that most defendants in such cases are large companies or
organizations that can easily afford the best legal representation money can
buy. And these 'legal eagles' have the ability to keep such cases floating
around in legal purgatory, often for years, and at great expense to the
plaintiffs and their legal teams.
My answer to the second question is that Loto-Quebec was eager to put a lid back on a potential 'Pandora's Box' of a case. If the case went ahead and the company's video lottery terminals (VLTs) were definitively proved - via a gaggle of gambling addiction experts and consultants as witnesses - to cause gambling addiction, not only would it be likely have to pay hundreds of millions in damages, but its VLT revenue stream would probably come to an end.
So an expensive, but not that expensive settlement was the obvious answer in order to continue to operate VLTs, which interestingly are sometimes referred to as the 'crack cocaine' of gambling in Canada.
As for what we think, unfortunately in all aspects of life, commerce and entertainment there are folks who cannot and will never understand moderation. And that is just a fact of life. But for the rest of us, we can take VLTs or leave them. And we'll never spend the kids' college funds trying to beat them.
 | Posted by Anton Johan at 02:35 on 12 January 2010 |
