Lawyer Clotilde Berube, 58, claims the provincially operated Loto-Quebec regulator did nothing to deter her from gambling at a casino in the western city of Gatineau, leading to her losing her job, house, family and friends, The Gazette newspaper in Montreal reported.

Her suit against the provincial regulator claims she started gambling in 1996 after her husband died.

The Quebec Superior Court in Montreal said it would begin hearing the case Oct. 16, although Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget said it wasn't a viable lawsuit.

"Are we going to stop selling alcohol because some people drink more than they should and sometimes causes accidents?" he told reporters. "Quebec cannot be a prison."

Quebec casinos and bars where video lottery terminals are licensed seen by UPI are heavily signed with bilingual warnings about problem gambling, along with toll-free numbers to call for help.