VLTs To Get Tracking Cards

System will give players info on spending, wins and losses

By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter 20/11/07

Within two years, anyone wanting to play video lottery terminals in Nova Scotia will need a card to insert into a device that keeps track of wins and losses.

The Nova Scotia Gaming Corp. announced Monday that it has awarded a five-year contract for an "informed player choice system" to Techlink Entertainment of Sydney. The deal is worth $6 million to $8 million, corporation spokeswoman Michaela Becker said.

Equipping the roughly 2,800 VLTs in the province, including those on native reserves, will take about 18 months, she said. The new system, the first of its kind in the world, will start appearing in bars next December.

A pilot project was held in the Windsor and Mount Uniacke area in 2005. Players had to register for a card about the size of a credit card that they inserted into a device attached to the VLT.

The system allowed players to track how much money they’d spent and to set limits for themselves and block out days they wouldn’t play, such as payday.

"The key objective, really, is to empower players to make informed decisions," Ms. Becker said. "Based on the research of the independent researchers, they said that it helped players spend less, and lose less, and exercise more control to make informed decisions."

She said the system will help prevent at-risk gamblers from becoming problem gamblers. Research on the pilot project found that the system had the most positive impact on players at the low end of the risk scale, with no negative effects on any players.

The Atlantic Lottery Corp., which operates the machines for the gaming corporation, issued the request for proposals in February. The original timeline called for a supplier to be chosen in June, but Ms. Becker said the complexity of the process and the effect it could have on Nova Scotians meant that officials needed more time.

John Xidos, president and CEO of Techlink, said the responsible gaming devices will differ from the ones used in the pilot project, but players will still need a card and it will allow them to manage their play.

Techlink, which developed its responsible gaming devices with the help of $2 million from Nova Scotia Business Inc., now has 70 employees. Mr. Xidos said this contract will mean adding another 30 jobs in the next six months.

He said he hopes the contract will be a catalyst for selling the devices elsewhere. He said he’s negotiating with 14 jurisdictions.

"I think the announcement gave us the credibility now to allow other people to jump in," Mr. Xidos said.

Debbie Langille, Game-OverVLTS.com spokeswoman, conceded the new system may help casual gamblers but she said it does nothing for addicts. "We’re fighting for the addicts because nobody else seems to be," Ms. Langille said. "We know that this money that they’re spending on this product could be better spent on helping people that have problems."

New Democrat gaming critic Howard Epstein said the system seems to be a small step forward in preventing problem gambling, but no one will know how effective it is until it’s in place and there’s some followup with individual players.

He said he’d like the number of VLTs in the province to continue to dwindle. Getting rid of all of them would be desirable, he said, but he isn’t sure it’s workable at this time.

Liberal gaming critic Leo Glavine said he’s not sure enough research has been done to prove the new system works. And he’s also concerned that it won’t help gambling addicts.

"The card may be telling them how much they’re playing in this hour or over several hours, but it doesn’t tell anything about the fact that, you know, the house has been remortgaged, the car has been sold, they have received money from family members," Mr. Glavine said.

The province expects a $93-million profit from VLTs this year, about 60 per cent of the total gaming profit.

In 1999, Mr. Xidos and business partner Martin Chernin complained to police after Techlink was denied a $1.4-million provincial loan to develop an online, in-room gambling system for hotel guests.

They alleged that a Sydney businessman with ties to the federal and provincial Liberal governments told Mr. Xidos he’d make sure the loan went through in exchange for a million shares of Techlink. Mr. Xidos said no, and Techlink’s loan, which the province’s business development corporation initially backed, was turned down.

An investigation dragged on for more than five years but no charges were ever laid.

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