Following a problem gambling class action involving 120 000 microgaming bonus for players and initiated in 2001, Loto-Quebec has agreed to a multi-million Canadian dollar settlement, reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The provincial government of Quebec, which owns the lottery, has now agreed to reimburse the costs of addiction treatment between 1994 and 2002 to the plaintiffs. The money is to help gambling addicts who were not previously covered by Quebec health insurance. The province began covering the cost of therapy for problem gamblers in 2002.

The plaintiffs originally sought about Cdn$1 billion in damages, but have settled for around Cdn$50 million.

Former journalist Nelson Labrie, the first witness called to testify, told the judge he thought video lottery terminals were ridiculous until he couldnt stop playing them. He went on to describe how his addiction had cost him his home and more than $250 000.

Legal representative for the plaintiffs Roger Garneau said that his clients had succeeded in proving that VLTs are dangerous, but that experts were not able to prove that playing on video lottery terminals caused people to become addicted to gambling.

Not everyone was happy with the result. Agreeing to the settlement was a mistake, said gambling counsellor Sol Boxenbaum, a consultant on the case who felt that the lawsuit could have created a precedent that would have forced Loto-Québec to warn people about the dangers of VLTs.

“How did we give up on a point like that?” Boxenbaum asked. “[There] should have been no question about a settlement unless we get that warning put onto the machines.”

Plaintiffs who disagree with the settlement will have an opportunity to state their cases when the agreement comes before a final court hearing on March 8 for ratification by a judge.

CBC reports that VLTs bring in more than one quarter of the provincial gaming corporation’s Cdn$3.8-billion in annual revenues.

The US national sports leagues have long opposed Internet gambling slot machines, but a recent Sports Illustrated interview with NBA Commissioner David Stern gave the perception that casino games attitudes may be softening.

Stern told SI writer Ian Thomsen that legalised sports betting in the United States could be a “huge opportunity,” setting the stage for a closer relationship between reputable sports betting and the NBA.

The sports executive’s comments came out in SI.com’s all-decade project highlighting the best and worst of sports in the 2000s. In the interview Thomsen asked commissioner Stern to examine the last 10 years while also envisioning what the future may hold — including legalised sports betting on NBA games. In the interview, Stern moved closer than any major commissioner in modern times to an acceptance of legalised betting on his games, although he made no firm commitments.

He did, however, open the door to a dialogue that could ultimately lead to a new relationship between the NBA and legalised sports betting, for the first time referring to nationally legalised gambling on the NBA as a “possibility” that “may be a huge opportunity.”

Thomsen’s concluding remarks gave an encouraging perspective gleaned from the interview when he wrote: “…legalized betting on professional sports in the U.S. is inevitable for two reasons:

(1) If sports wagering becomes a legal and taxable form of revenue, then governments will actively police sports betting in order to protect that revenue base, as well as to safe-guard the leagues that create the windfall of new taxes; and

(2) Betting on games will create more fan interest and, ultimately, bring in more money to the NBA and other leagues.”