Out of the hole

3 Comments

Steve

05/16/2014

An incredible, touching story. Very brave of you, Atlantic Lottery, for including this story on this website. He hasn't given you a cent in 20 years, yet he's featured here. You guys really are willing to bear it all, and I commend you for that. Congratulations on the beautiful site.

DK

07/30/2011

A few weeks ago, your four-page advertisement was placed in front of the front page of our newspaper. On page 3 of the same paper, was a story about a 51-year old woman, who had stolen almost forty-thousand dollars from her church and a seniors group "to feed her gambling addiction". The judge called it "heartbreaking because they're usually good people. Gambling destroys families, careers and lives." I know that you are not responsible for people who become addicted, any more than liquor agencies are for alcholics, or tobacco companies for heavy smokers. Can you really justify your existance by listing a few Gambling Support Resources at the end of your site??? Apparently, the lady in this story was addicted to VLTs and pull-tab tickets - she probably doesn't know that there are 2850 tickets in each box! These seem to be the greatest concern for most families. Isn't there enough money generated by the other sources to eliminate these two sometimes life-altering activities? This woman only ended up in court - what about the ones who end up in the cemetary?

Atlantic Lottery

08/02/2011

Thanks for taking the time to comment. We can ensure you that our commitment to Responsible Gambling (RG) goes far beyond directing players to community resources. Our commitment is proactive and our programs have been deemed some of the best in the industry. It’s our role to provide players with all of the information they need to make informed choices about their play, equipping our operators and retail partners with RG training so they can recognize problem gambling warning signs and provide players with appropriate resources for support. In our eyes, the most irresponsible move we could make would be to walk away from our role as the regulator of lottery and gaming across Atlantic Canada. Take VLTs for example. In 1991, we took what was an unregulated VLT market, introduced RG programs and began returning all profits back to the four Atlantic provinces. We believe that a properly regulated market is a far better option than the “underground” unregulated market that would reappear if VLTs, or any game or product, were banned outright. In the end, we’re Atlantic Canadians working to make Atlantic Canada a better place, and our commitment to providing responsible, regulated products is a large part of how we do that. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts! Renée@AtlanticLottery