Quebec plans to start cutting the number of video lottery terminals in the province, especially in low income areas, to fight problem gambling.
The VLTs are deployed mostly in taverns by Loto-Quebec, the state agency that operates the lottery. The machines that will be removed will mainly be in low income neighborhoods. The plan is to cut the number from about 12,000 in 2,000 bars to less than 10,000. No more than two such vendors per 5,000 would be allowed, with no more than two VLTs per 1,000 residents. The location of the machines will shift from bars to places such as bowling alleys that encourage group entertainment and socialization.
Not surprisingly, this approach is viewed with skepticism by some tavern operators, who predict the province will lose money. Peter Sergakis, president of the Union of Quebec Bar Owners Association, told CBC News, “If the government makes $800 million with these machines, it goes to the public treasury. With that we pay for health, education, we pay for the police.”
