BCLC Self-Exclusion Program Toothless

(Aired on July 27, 2010)

B.C. Lottery Corporation has a self-exclusion program which is designed to keep problem gamblers out of casinos. Critics of the program say it doesn't work, and two lawsuits currently being initiated point out the problem.

One man is suing because he claims he was denied a lottery jackpot after signing up for the program. Yet he claims he was able to enter a casino over and over without being asked to leave. Another is suing because she says she was able to lose $330,000 over three years despite enrolling herself in the program.

The program doesn't seem to have much power to stop people from going into casinos. There is no way casino operators can identify those enrolled in the program. I suppose if a person is known to staff and known to be in the program, they should have some onus to keep that person out. But the details of the program are somewhat unclear. Interesting to note that when I went online this morning to get some background on the program, the BCLC site told me the page on the self-exclusion program was no longer available.

Perhaps we should look to other areas of the world where everyone who enters a casino has to show ID. If such ID were scanned, then those registered in the self-exclusion program could be flagged and asked to leave. Some would claim that's an invasion of privacy, and gives the government access to information on everyone who goes to a casino. There are some definite privacy issues involved in that scenario. But outside of that, I don't know what can be done to prevent people from gambling.

It's a serious problem, and needs to be addressed, but simply registering for a self-exclusion program that seems to have no teeth may provide false hope for people trying to deal with their addiction. But in reality, how much should BCLC be required to do? Let's face it, they can't be the police, and people have to take responsibility for their addictions and get help.

I guess the unfortunate part of these scenarios is that they thought they were getting it by signing up for this program, a program that really doesn't seem to offer much in the way of a solution at all.