Gambler settles suit with government agency

A compulsive gambler has settled a lawsuit out of court against the government agency which runs Ontario's casinos, CBC-TV News reports.

• INDEPTH: Gambling

The settlement believed to be the first of its kind.

If Lisa Dickert got money from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC), "it means the government knows they have some exposure," says lawyer Jerry Levitan.

And that could open the floodgates, because there's a growing list of compulsive gamblers launching lawsuits against the governments that own casinos, and the people who operate them.

"They make billions of dollars on the backs of Ontario citizens on essentially what is in a lot of cases is an illness," said Dickert's lawyer, Charles Sinclair.

There are several suits in Ontario, a class action in Quebec and dozens of other problem gamblers across the country are waiting to see how this first wave of lawsuits plays out before deciding whether to launch their own cases.

Gabe Macaluso was CEO of the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ont., until he gambled away a million dollars and was fired from his job.

He's now suing the OLGC and welcomed the news that another compulsive gambler has settled her lawsuit.

"I hope it's a fair deal for her," he said.

The terms of the settlement are private, but Dickert's allegations are public. OLGC has denied them.

Dickert claims she was a regular at casinos in Sarnia and Brantford, and knew she had a problem. She said she ignored her family and lost her job, so she registered with the casinos' voluntary self-exclusion programs.

That means "they would not be permitted in our facilities for a period of six months," said Joe Vecsi, OLGC spokesman.

But that's not how it worked out. In her lawsuit, Dickert claims that casino employees never stopped her from entering and even welcomed her by name after she signed the form and told casino staff she was a compulsive gambler.

Once, after gambling for 52 hours straight, she totalled her car. Then she quit.

But that was five months after she signed the form that was supposed to keep her out of the casinos.

CBC News will run special reports on gambling on Thursday.