Gambling suicide prompts criticism of Loto-Qubec

The brother of a Verdun man who killed himself outside the Montreal casino on Saturday is speaking out against gambling.

Daniel Naudi, aged 46, killed himself in the casino's parking lot. His brother Serge says the Quebec government, which runs Loto-Qubec, takes advantage of the public's weakness for gambling.

Cry for help?

Experts in the treatment of compulsive gambling say that in choosing the casino site, Daniel Naudi was probably uttering a cry for help.

He had signed on with a self-exclusion program, intended to keep problem gamblers out of the casino.

But, it was revealed Tuesday, the squad of security officers that kept track of these gamblers, "la brigade Hibou," has been disbanded for several months.

Thousands of problem gamblers on the island

The casino is run by Loto-Qubec. Critics have long argued that while Loto-Qubec makes millions every year, it extracts a big cost, especially from compulsive gamblers.

The Montreal public health department says there are up to 15,000 compulsive gamblers on the Island of Montreal alone.