Video lottery terminals (VLT) are headed to court in Canada’s Atlantic provinces, and the case could spell trouble for VLT operations across the country.

On Monday, the CBC reported that the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal had rejected efforts by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) to block a class action lawsuit brought by opponents of the ALC’s VLT operations in Canada’s four maritime provinces.

The lawsuit, which was launched in 2012 and certified as a class action last year, alleges that VLTs are “inherently deceptive, inherently addictive and inherently dangerous when used as intended.” The lawsuit further claims that VLTs violate Canada’s Criminal Code because they don’t fit within its criteria for slot machines, lotteries or other ‘fair games of chance.’

The lawsuit claims VLTs employ “deceptive” algorithms that are intended to produce “cognitive distortions” regarding a customer’s chance of winning a prize. The lawsuit says these algorithms are simply a technologically updated version of the ruses employed by street hustlers offering ‘three-card monte’ games.