Atlantic Lottery Corp. VLT vouchers are problematic, says Musgrave Harbour man

When Fred Small heard the Atlantic Lottery Corp. was passing out $5 vouchers for video lottery terminal (VLT) credit, he was floored.

A family member who works in retail mentioned the vouchers to him last month, knowing the trouble Small had gone through with his addiction to VLTs.

When The Telegram asked him about the promotion — given to customers who spend $25 on a special lottery ticket combo — the Musgrave Harbour man didn’t mince words.

“My oh my oh my, what are they trying to do to the people at all — get them hooked on it? It’s terrible,” said Small, one of the representative plaintiffs in a class action against Atlantic Lottery and others over VLTs, a civil lawsuit that’s still before the court.

The voucher — shared with The Telegram by another customer — has an expiry date and says, “Present this coupon to any video lottery retailer in Newfoundland and Labrador … and receive a $5 credit towards a video lottery play experience.

“My oh my oh my, what are they trying to do to the people at all — get them hooked on it?" — Fred Small

According to Atlantic Lottery, when a player purchased a COMBO 5 at any Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Lottery retail location from Jan. 13-26, they received the coupon for the $5 credit. The offer expires Feb. 16.

“This coupon gives existing lottery players over the age of 19 an opportunity to experience a different product for entertainment. It is similar to other product promotions we have had in the region,” Atlantic Lottery Corp. senior communications counsel Natalie Belliveau said in a statement to The Telegram about the voucher.

“As always, Atlantic Lottery provides its players with a responsible and regulated video lottery program. Video lottery terminals have a number of responsible gambling safeguards, including time played reminders, mandatory cash-out after 150 minutes of play, displaying cash not credits, maximum bets and cash-in limits.”

But Small said it’s plain wrong to hand out coupons for a machine that can be disastrously addictive for some people.

He lived the addiction for years and doesn’t want to say how much he spent each day on the machines, but it was an astounding number.

“When you have to put out vouchers to go play the games, they must be hoping to addict people, I am sure of that. … They’re not giving it out to be kind,” he said. “Anybody who never gambled before might think it’s great, but they’ll find out soon enough it’s not so great after all.”

Small said his sister told him about the voucher because she knew what his VLT addiction did to his life.

“My God, my God,” Small said.

“I lost my soul — that’s what I done. It took my soul. It took everything. … (VLTs) are the devil.”

Small said he played the machines for about 20 years and first plugged in a few dollars in the bars after hearing people say they won.

“And then I was hooked on it the same as Fentanyl, although I would never try that,” he said. “It’s that strong an addiction.”

In Small’s opinion, the Atlantic Lottery Corp. is trying to lure more people back to VLT use with the voucher.

“I can’t fathom it. I don’t think it should be, and government is enticing it. … The governments are getting the profit out of it.”

Video lottery sales in 2018 reached $140.1 million, down from about $141.7 million in 2017, but higher than 2018’s target of $139.7 million, according to the annual report.

Small said if he can get $1 back from Atlantic Lottery, it will prove him right.

Lawsuit filed in 2012

In December, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal allowed the class-action lawsuit Small is involved in to go ahead, rejecting arguments for dismissal from the Atlantic Lottery Corp.

Arguing that VLTs are “inherently deceptive, inherently addictive and inherently dangerous when used as intended,” the original statement of claim was filed in 2012 and the class action was certified in 2017.

The lawsuit alleges VLTs should be considered illegal because they don't fit the Criminal Code definitions for slot machines, fair games of chance or lotteries.

The lawsuit argues VLTs use electronic programming to create "cognitive distortions" about the perception of winning intended to keep the consumer engaged and losing money, and that the machines are like loaded dice.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The Atlantic Lottery Corp. has always insisted the outcomes on the regulated VLTs are decided only by chance.

The class action is represented by Toronto-based lawyer Kirk Baert.