A $3.5-billion class action lawsuit was filed against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) in Toronto, alleging that the company did not do enough for those who signed up for "self-exclusion," a program that allows people to have themselves banned from casinos in an effort to curb their ruinous gambling habits. Every provincial casino keeps a record, including a photograph and personal information, on each person who signs up for the program, and if they are caught trying to enter a casino, they can be arrested for trespassing.
Plaintiffs claim the OLG should be using technology to catch self-banned gamblers similar to that being used in the Netherlands where each photo ID is required to enter the casinos, and each is checked against a computer database. This is the first class-action to be filed regarding the program, however, records show that nine individual lawsuits pertaining to self-exclusion have been settled in Ontario.
