Degenerate Gambler suing B.C. Lottery Commission

In a bizarre move, a Canadian woman named Joyce May Ross is suing the British Columbia Lottery Corporation after accusing their self-exclusion program of not curing her gambling problem. The lawsuit alleges that both the B.C.L.C. and two casinos failed to stop her from entering their premises and gambling over $300,000.

The 54 year-old businesswoman started gambling back in 1999, and had gradually worked her way up to gambling more than $1,000 a day by the mid-2000’s. Realizing that her gambling habit was becoming a problem, Ross checked herself into a B.C.L.C. voluntary self-exclusion program at Fraser Downs casino.

People who enroll in the B.C.L.C. voluntary exclusion programs are not permitted to enter B.C. casinos. As part of the program, the participants are photographed for identification purposes, and they sign a contract that prevents them from gambling at B.C. casinos for anywhere between 6 months and three years.

According to Ross, she thought that part of the program included security escorting her out if she attempted to enter a casino. Once she joined the program, Ross successfully avoided gambling for a few weeks. However, the temptation grew to be too much and she eventually found herself at the Victoria Casino.

Not long after that, she was at Fraser Downs spending more money than ever. In just three years after joining the voluntary exclusion program, Ross has gambled away $331,000. The lawsuit that she has leveled at the British Columbia Lottery Commission not only seeks repayment of the $331k, but also emotional damages.

Apparently it looks as if the case will go to trial so there is actually a chance that she could win the lawsuit. But even if she did win the lawsuit, it’s hard to see a court awarding her the full $331,000 plus extra money for emotional damages.