Que. In Gambling Addiction Treatment Deal: Report

From The CBC:

A settlement may be in the works between the Quebec government and Loto-Québec in a legal battle over the cost of treating people with gambling addiction, according to a published report.

La Presse said Thursday that the provincial government has agreed to reimburse treatment costs for problem gamblers between 1994 and 2002.

The agreement reportedly settles the class action lawsuit brought against Loto-Québec in 2001.

Read more ....

Update: Gambling addicts get $50 M compensation deal -- CTV

My Comment: This 'agreement" is just a drop in the bucket to solve a problem that is pervasive throughout our society. Oh well .... like all politicians .... they believe that throwing away some money may get rid of the problem.

Loto-Quebec Plans To Enter Online Gambling Market

Photo: Loto-Quebec president Alain Cousineau says the lottery corporation hopes to offer internet poker and sports betting by next summer. (Loto Quebec/ CBC)

From CTV News:

MONTREAL — Loto-Quebec is hoping to offer its clients online poker and sports betting beginning next summer.

Alain Cousineau, the head of the provincial lottery corporation, made the announcement in a speech to the Montreal Board of Trade on Tuesday.

He said Loto-Quebec also plans to collaborate with the lottery corporations in five other provinces that already offer online services.

They are British Columbia and the four Atlantic provinces.

Read more ....

Update: Loto-Québec to offer online poker -- CBC

My Comment: I am curious if they are going to ask the Mohawks at Kahnawake for help, since the servers on their reservation run a good portion of the world's online gambling sites. Hmmmm .... probably not.

$50M Loto Ticket Purchased In West; Quebecer Holds $1M Ticket

From The Montreal Gazette:

Canada's newest national lottery game finally has a grand-prize winner.

One ticket purchased in the Prairies had the numbers 2, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17 and 18 for the estimated $50-million win in Friday's Lotto Max draw.

Five prizes of $1 million were also won Friday. These tickets were sold in Quebec, Ontario and the Prairies.

Read more ....

My Comment: Sigh .... I am not a winner today.

Goodbye Super 7, Hello Lotto Max

From CTV:

Loto Quebec is retiring its Super 7 lottery.

The final draw of the 15 year old lottery takes place Friday night, with a $21 million jackpot.

Even if no one picks all seven numbers, the entirety of the final jackpot will be distributed to people who match 6 out of 7 numbers.

Read more .....

'It's About Time' Mont Tremblant Casino Opens

Casino de Mont-Tremblant, Quebec’s fourth casino, as seen from the back and the trail leading to a gondola that is to link the casino, located at the base of the Versant Soleil mountain face, with the Intrawest resort village of Mont-Tremblant. Photograph by: Loto-Québec, Loto-Québec

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONT TREMBLANT ­ Asked about the opening of Canada's first ski-in ski-out casino at the Intrawest resort here, local businessman Louis Kilburg didn't hesitate for a second.

"It's about time," the recently-retired owner of the town's hardware store said Tuesday afternoon.

"We needed that to help the (area) businesses, the hotels and restaurants. People who come here have to have something to do with themselves at night."

Read more ....

Loto-Québec Profits Up Even In Tough Economy

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL ­ Tough economic times have not dulled Quebecers’ dream of landing the big one.

Loto-Québec said Thursday that its revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31 were up 0.5 per cent to $3.87 billion from $3.85 billion the year before.

Most of its lotteries and games generated roughly the same amount as last year, with the exception of Bingo, which declined. But revenues from casinos and video lottery machines increased slightly.

Read more ....

One Winning 6/49 Ticket Purchased In Quebec

From CTV News:

ORONTO -- All the wishing and hoping has paid off, literally, for several lottery players after four winning tickets were produced in Saturday's colossal 6/49 draw.

Four golden tickets were sold for the $50.3 million jackpot, the second hugest in Canadian history. While the winners have yet to surface, it's known that three were bought in Ontario and one was purchased in Quebec.

Ontario's lucky few would have stood in long lines somewhere in Halton and Durham regions, in the Greater Toronto Area, and the Sudbury area in northern Ontario, said Teresa Roncon, a spokeswoman for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

Read more ....

My Comment: I won $10

Problem Gamblers Take Loto-Québec To Court

From The CBC:

Thousands of people who say they developed a gambling problem after playing video lottery terminals (VLTs) are taking Loto-Québec to court.

A class action suit involving almost 120,000 people will be heard over the next year in a Quebec City courtroom.

Laval University law professor Daniel Gardner said the gamblers are asking for about $700,000,000 in total to reimburse them for the cost of their therapy and rehabilitation.

"The plaintiffs have to prove that Loto-Québec was in fault, because they didn't warn properly the players about the dangers of VLTs. And after that, they also have to prove that this fault, if it does exist, is the primary cause of the damage that [was] caused to the players," Gardner said.

The VLTs have been regulated in Quebec for 15 years, and the lottery corporation claims they are only a problem for about one per cent of the population.

Over the next months, testimony will be heard from experts, researchers and problem gamblers.

As the hearing opened Monday morning, a former Quebec City journalist told how he lost $250,000 and his home, while jeopardizing his relationship with his only son.