Pure
Fiel a Verdad
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2001
- Posts
- 15,135
for failing to help with their problem-- and exploiting it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090418.wgamble18/BNStory/National/home
Gamblers and their families sue the gov't body that runs casinos. Casinos have dealt with problem gamblers by having them voluntarily sign a 'self exclusion' form. But becuase there are thousands of 'excluders,' enforcement by the casinos, is spotty. Some gamblers have signed the form, but returned and entered, unimpeded, the next day.
Does the gov't have a duty to protect problem gamblers. Are problem gamblers inflicted with a 'disease', as some say that problem drinkers are; it's said they said have the 'disease' or sickness of alcoholism.. Later in the article, it mentions the Dutch system of requiring ID cards of those who enter, so that a computer database of problem gamblers, can be referenced. Is this 'big brother' and 'socialism' or a legitimate protectioin function of gov't, such as requiring construction areas to be fenced off from pedestrians.
The big bluff
Peter Dennis nearly lost his family before having himself barred from casinos. He then gambled for three more years. He's one of thousands hooked on the government-backed business of gambling
LISA PRIEST
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
April 18, 2009 at 1:39 AM EDT
A $3.5-billion lawsuit against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. on behalf of more than 10,000 problem gamblers – with ramifications for many thousands more across Canada – reveals a devastating glimpse into a lucrative government business that leaves some of its best customers in financial ruin.
The lawsuit, which contains allegations not yet proven in court, portrays an unsavoury industry with addictive slot machines, bank machines readily available to inveterate gamblers and the availability of house credit.
At the centre of this proposed class action is Peter Aubrey Dennis, 49, of Markham, Ont., north of Toronto, who lost his life's savings and almost his family. His wife Zubin Noble is the second representative plaintiff.
His gambling problems and the resulting stress led to his youngest son's attempted suicide and his eldest son – once an A student – did so poorly in school he was held back one year. Under constant stress, Ms. Noble developed a tremor according to court documents filed Thursday.
“I could not stop myself from the gambling,” Mr. Dennis states in his affidavit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. “It consumed me.”
So severe was his compulsion to gamble that when his eldest son was injured and required a hospital visit, Mr. Dennis instead went to play the slot machines.
A relative had to take the teenager for medical treatment.
Though the tally on how much he lost is still not known, Mr. Dennis gambled $500,000 from 2001 to May 23, 2004, according to court documents. The day after, on May 24, he went to the slots area of Woodbine Racetrack, said he had a serious gambling problem and that he wanted to sign the self-exclusion form.
He signed that form, was photographed and told by a security guard that he could be charged with trespassing if he entered any of the OLG's casinos or gambling venues, of which there are 27.
But Mr. Dennis did return – one week after signing that form – and then regularly for three more years at Woodbine Racetrack and Casino Rama. He was stopped only once, according to his affidavit, at which point he left.
“After he self-excluded, Mr. Dennis reportedly returned to Casino Rama and Woodbine Racetrack hundreds of times without being detected and without using any disguises,” according to a report by Robert Williams, the Lethbridge co-ordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, that is part of the 1,873 pages of court documents.
“The one and only time he was detected was when [he] wanted to take a bus to Casino Rama one or two years after he had self-excluded, and he was not allowed on the bus. However, on this occasion he simply went to Woodbine Racetrack to gamble instead.”
---
Hassan Fancy, one of the three lawyers involved in the proposed class action, said at the time of Mr. Dennis's self-exclusion, the task of detecting these self-excluders was largely left to security officials to memorize their faces and stop them from entering.
“The self-exclusion system is a bluff because it's being based on human memory,” Mr. Fancy said in an interview. “It is obvious that no person can remember 12,000 faces in a sea of millions at all the gambling venues.”
Court documents suggest there are several things about OLG [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp] that contributed to Mr. Dennis's gambling problem. They include: making gambling convenient to Mr. Dennis in distance and through extended operating hours, making the most addictive forms of gambling – slot machines – readily available, advertising gambling, and providing house credit, according to a report filed by Dr. Williams, the psychologist and co-ordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute
.
OLG's weak self-exclusion program was not well promoted or well enforced, his report says.
And yet, he pointed out, there are other systems – such as those in The Netherlands – that are effective at stopping problem gambling.
There, patrons must show their identification before entering a casino. If the computer reveals a significant increase in visits or that a person has had 20 visits a month over the past three months, the gambler is approached to see whether he or she would like to sign a “visit limitation contract” or self-exclusion contract, according to Dr. Williams's report.
As for Mr. Dennis, he says in his affidavit that he has obtained treatment for his gambling problem and that he has “discovered that helping others, my family and myself in this class action has proven very rehabilitative for me. I feel I am once again making a contribution to our society.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090418.wgamble18/BNStory/National/home
Gamblers and their families sue the gov't body that runs casinos. Casinos have dealt with problem gamblers by having them voluntarily sign a 'self exclusion' form. But becuase there are thousands of 'excluders,' enforcement by the casinos, is spotty. Some gamblers have signed the form, but returned and entered, unimpeded, the next day.
Does the gov't have a duty to protect problem gamblers. Are problem gamblers inflicted with a 'disease', as some say that problem drinkers are; it's said they said have the 'disease' or sickness of alcoholism.. Later in the article, it mentions the Dutch system of requiring ID cards of those who enter, so that a computer database of problem gamblers, can be referenced. Is this 'big brother' and 'socialism' or a legitimate protectioin function of gov't, such as requiring construction areas to be fenced off from pedestrians.
The big bluff
Peter Dennis nearly lost his family before having himself barred from casinos. He then gambled for three more years. He's one of thousands hooked on the government-backed business of gambling
LISA PRIEST
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
April 18, 2009 at 1:39 AM EDT
A $3.5-billion lawsuit against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. on behalf of more than 10,000 problem gamblers – with ramifications for many thousands more across Canada – reveals a devastating glimpse into a lucrative government business that leaves some of its best customers in financial ruin.
The lawsuit, which contains allegations not yet proven in court, portrays an unsavoury industry with addictive slot machines, bank machines readily available to inveterate gamblers and the availability of house credit.
At the centre of this proposed class action is Peter Aubrey Dennis, 49, of Markham, Ont., north of Toronto, who lost his life's savings and almost his family. His wife Zubin Noble is the second representative plaintiff.
His gambling problems and the resulting stress led to his youngest son's attempted suicide and his eldest son – once an A student – did so poorly in school he was held back one year. Under constant stress, Ms. Noble developed a tremor according to court documents filed Thursday.
“I could not stop myself from the gambling,” Mr. Dennis states in his affidavit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. “It consumed me.”
So severe was his compulsion to gamble that when his eldest son was injured and required a hospital visit, Mr. Dennis instead went to play the slot machines.
A relative had to take the teenager for medical treatment.
Though the tally on how much he lost is still not known, Mr. Dennis gambled $500,000 from 2001 to May 23, 2004, according to court documents. The day after, on May 24, he went to the slots area of Woodbine Racetrack, said he had a serious gambling problem and that he wanted to sign the self-exclusion form.
He signed that form, was photographed and told by a security guard that he could be charged with trespassing if he entered any of the OLG's casinos or gambling venues, of which there are 27.
But Mr. Dennis did return – one week after signing that form – and then regularly for three more years at Woodbine Racetrack and Casino Rama. He was stopped only once, according to his affidavit, at which point he left.
“After he self-excluded, Mr. Dennis reportedly returned to Casino Rama and Woodbine Racetrack hundreds of times without being detected and without using any disguises,” according to a report by Robert Williams, the Lethbridge co-ordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, that is part of the 1,873 pages of court documents.
“The one and only time he was detected was when [he] wanted to take a bus to Casino Rama one or two years after he had self-excluded, and he was not allowed on the bus. However, on this occasion he simply went to Woodbine Racetrack to gamble instead.”
---
Hassan Fancy, one of the three lawyers involved in the proposed class action, said at the time of Mr. Dennis's self-exclusion, the task of detecting these self-excluders was largely left to security officials to memorize their faces and stop them from entering.
“The self-exclusion system is a bluff because it's being based on human memory,” Mr. Fancy said in an interview. “It is obvious that no person can remember 12,000 faces in a sea of millions at all the gambling venues.”
Court documents suggest there are several things about OLG [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp] that contributed to Mr. Dennis's gambling problem. They include: making gambling convenient to Mr. Dennis in distance and through extended operating hours, making the most addictive forms of gambling – slot machines – readily available, advertising gambling, and providing house credit, according to a report filed by Dr. Williams, the psychologist and co-ordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute
.
OLG's weak self-exclusion program was not well promoted or well enforced, his report says.
And yet, he pointed out, there are other systems – such as those in The Netherlands – that are effective at stopping problem gambling.
There, patrons must show their identification before entering a casino. If the computer reveals a significant increase in visits or that a person has had 20 visits a month over the past three months, the gambler is approached to see whether he or she would like to sign a “visit limitation contract” or self-exclusion contract, according to Dr. Williams's report.
As for Mr. Dennis, he says in his affidavit that he has obtained treatment for his gambling problem and that he has “discovered that helping others, my family and myself in this class action has proven very rehabilitative for me. I feel I am once again making a contribution to our society.”
