Common Cause President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Harshbarger issued a warning to the gaming industry that it could face major class action litigation due to gambling addiction. Harshbarger, a former Attorney General of Massachusetts and one of the first Attorneys General to sue the tobacco industry, warned that an increasing number of Americans face lives destroyed by legalized gambling. "If the industry or the people doing this are not taking steps that are reasonable, they may well face the same problem that the tobacco and alcohol industries faced," Harshbarger predicted during a June 5, 2002 talk to participants at the New England Conference on Problem Gambling.
"Sooner or later, the (slot) machines are going to be labeled as the addictive delivery system." said Rev. Tom Grey, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. "We believe states should bring lawsuits against gambling entities, the same way they did against the tobacco industry," Grey said. "Except there's no incentive to do it because they're partners (with the industry). So it's going to take longer. But it's going to happen."
On May 6, 2002, a Superior Court judge in Quebec allowed a class action lawsuit to move ahead against Loto-Quebec, with over 100,000 plaintiffs seeking damages caused by their addiction to video lottery terminals. That lawsuit benefited from publicity generated by the suicide of a Quebec man with a gambling addiction, who allegedly left a suicide note blaming his suicide on his addition to video lottery terminals and mentioning Loto-Quebec by name. The Quebec coroner said this suicide brought the number of suicides to fifteen in Quebec directly linked to gambling in 2001, on top of twenty in 2000 and twenty-three in 1999.
Why This Matters: Despite the efforts made by the gaming industry to better manage gambling addiction by its customers, Harshbarger’s warning may have some merit. And the initiative may come from state Attorneys General, particularly states not benefiting financially from gaming.
This article originally appeared in ADLAW By Request, a publication of Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood LLP.
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