BCLC Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Video Slots

The British Columbia Lottery Corp is facing a class action lawsuit over allegedly “deceptive, addictive and dangerous” video slots.

The video slots class action lawsuit was lodged by a Kelowna woman who claims the slot machines with a video layout are particularly concerning. Further, players don’t know their chances at the devices because the odds of winning are allegedly hidden, according to the complaint.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the video slots class action lawsuit specifically focuses on games where a player bets on the outcome of a line of characters displayed on a video screen, as opposed to the older style of slots with a lever the player pulls to bet on one line.

The plaintiff says that she has played video slots for 20 years, including in the province for the past five years. She claims that she and other players are so deceived by the machines that the players end up suffering financial and emotional distress as a result. In addition, the plaintiff contends that the machines manipulate the odds of winning, amounting to a violation of the Criminal Code. 

“Video slots are inherently deceptive, inherently addictive and inherently dangerous when used as intended,” says the video slots class action lawsuit. “They are a form of continuous gaming which differs from traditional mechanical slot machines, lotteries and other games of chance in that they are electronically programmed to create cognitive distortions of the perception of winning, which cognitive distortions are intended to keep the consumer engaged and losing money.”

The video slot class action lawsuit says that the games of the video slots are essentially rigged because players cannot determine their odds of winning.

“The difficulty of figuring out the odds is augmented by variable prize structures and the resulting volatility of the games that makes it impossible for the user to determine, with any accuracy, the true odds of winning during any given play session,” alleges the video slots class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff seeks to represent anyone who paid to play line games on video slots in the province of B.C. between Feb. 7, 2018 and the present.

“Use of the video slots as intended resulted in the plaintiff and the class suffering economic losses, emotional distress and mental anguish, and other expected harms flowing from these losses and injuries, such as addiction, dependency, self-harm and/or suicide,” contends the complaint.

Running of video slots at various private-sector services, including casinos, racecourses and community gaming centers is run by the B.C. Lottery Corp, or BCLC, which authorizes the use of the machines. The video slots class action lawsuit contends that the BCLC has been authorizing video slots improperly.

“The video slots described herein are so programmed, fixed and manipulative that they do not fit any reasonable definition of ‘slot machine’ or ‘fair game of chance’ and do not form part of a valid ‘lottery scheme,’ as defined in section 207 of the Criminal Code,” argues the plaintiff in her video slots class action lawsuit.

The video slots class action lawsuit is seeking $1 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff also wants an accounting of the profits made from the video slots and the lottery corp. to disgorge some of those profits.

Do you think video slots are manipulative and harmful? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Canadian Auto Parts Price-Fixing Settlements

RCMP Class Action Certified by a Canadian Court at $1.1B

Canadian Law Firm Launches Ukrainian Airlines Flight Class Action

Canadian Files Zantac Class Action Alleging Cancer Risk