The Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which supplies lottery services to the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, is preparing a course for lottery ticket retailers and employees of bars with video lottery terminals on spotting problem gamblers.
Atlantic Lottery will hire and expert to help the retailers recognize the signs of a gambling problem, Kim Wilson, manager of responsible gaming for Atlantic Lottery, told CBC News on Wednesday.
"They know their customers and they have their customers' best interests at heart," Wilson said. "We are not asking them to intervene and treat, we're just asking them to be aware."
The mandatory course will start in September and retailers and bar employees are required to complete it by March 2009.