MONTREAL - A former compulsive gambler who tried to commit suicide by jumping off a Montreal bridge in 2003, Did Belizaire says he'll never go back to playing video lottery terminals.
"I'm in a wheelchair because of that so it would be pathetic for me to get busy in the morning, get all dressed up and go and park myself in front of a machine," he said Thursday. "I'm really done with it."
The 43-year-old is now a paraplegic.
He was speaking after Quebec's lottery commission confirmed Thursday it had reached a tentative multimillion-dollar agreement to compensate thousands of addicted gamblers.
The out-of-court settlement of the class-action lawsuit has national implications because similar lawsuits are still underway in different provinces, including Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The deal, reportedly worth $50 million instead of the $500 million sought by the plaintiffs, stems from a lawsuit which was filed against the Quebec lottery commission in 2001 by gamblers addicted to VLTs.
Belizaire says when he first started playing VLTs more than 20 years ago he would put down $10 or $20, but through the years that turned into $100, $150 and even more.
"There's no way you can afford spending that money without the consequences that come with it," he said.
Belizaire eventually ended up having to borrow $1,000 from a loan shark with "$50 interest per day."
He said that on Sept. 19, 2003, he stole $500 from the petty cash of a hotel where he was working as a concierge.
"My plan was to go to the casino, play, and make enough money to give to the loan sharks so I could breathe easier.
"(But) I lost everything, so when I walked out of the casino I did the equation and that was it. I had to end my life."
After his failed suicide attempt, he went into rehab and later joined EmJEU, a coalition that focuses on ethics at Loto-Quebec.
Belizaire notes the agreed-to settlement provides compensation only for between 1994 and 2002.
But he says many compulsive gamblers received therapy during that period from clinics that were not recognized by the government.
"The whole court thing has been done for nothing because it's a minority of people who will get money back."
Loto-Quebec spokesman Jean-Pierre Roy said some people will have to show proof they followed therapy during the 1990s.
Belizaire also complains the deal does not recognize that VLTs are the cause of gambling.
"They're saying that gambling in general is the cause of this, they're saying that a lottery ticket is the same as the machines," he said.
"But I don't know of anybody who tried to kill himself over a lottery ticket."
The plaintiffs say around 119,000 Quebec gamblers can trace their addiction to VLTs.
Sol Boxenbaum, a consumer advocate and another spokesman for EmJEU, says Loto-Quebec doesn't want a court judgment that might set a legal precedent.
He believes other jurisdictions have had their eyes on the Quebec case.
"Any time there's a lawsuit involving Loto-Quebec, or the Ontario Lottery Corporation or whoever, it's never a completed trial," said Boxenbaum.
"If you get a judgment then you have jurisprudence, (but) if you're getting a settlement it means you didn't win."
Boxenbaum also points out it's the provincial Health Department that will decide on the amount each person receives in compensation.
He's urging the claimants to reject the deal "because it's really not a fair settlement to anybody -- except their lawyers," who he says will get $2.7 million.
Loto-Quebec says details of the tentative agreement will be made public Jan. 16.
A hearing will then be held March 8 in Quebec City. Plaintiffs unhappy with the deal will get a chance to speak before a judge, who must then decide whether to approve the settlement.
