Video Lottery Terminals at the Red Shores casino in Charlottetown. The P.E.I. Lotteries Commission made $10.3 million in revenue from VLTs in 2022, up $2 million from the previous year. - Stu Neatby/SaltWire NetworkCHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The P.E.I. government took in $10.3 million in profit last year from video lottery terminals despite widespread consensus that the devices play a leading role in promoting and aggravating gambling addiction.
Sandy Alexander says gambling addiction cost him tens of thousands of dollars. He said VLTs were"basically the main part of it." - Stu Neatby/SaltWire NetworkSandy Alexander spent years struggling with gambling addiction. He says he’s been clean for eight years and is in a healthy place. But says his addiction cost him tens of thousands of dollars.
"I think that it's dangerous. But I think that, you know, people are allowed to do dangerous things,” Alexander said. “If we are actually serious about addressing mental health, $10 million in revenue isn't worth it," Bell said.The P.E.I. government’s last responsible gaming strategy, released by the Robert Ghiz government in 2008, pledged to reduce the number of machines in the province by 20 per cent.Fifteen years later, Ready said the 20 per cent goal has been achieved. There are 308 terminals in the province currently, down from 386 in 2008.
ALC’s website currently does not allow fast-paced online casino-style gaming for gamblers in the province. But unregulated gaming sites are still accessible to anyone with a smartphone. Dienes said government-owned gambling authorities like ALC have no incentive to develop safer online gambling products. Products with built-in limits on betting would likely limit revenue, he said.
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