Newfoundland and Labrador collected $65 million from VLTs in 2008. (CBC)

A group that wants Newfoundland and Labrador to get out of the video lottery terminal business is calling on the government to set up an independent task force to study the social impact of VLTs.

“Take a hard look at this and look at the costs,” said businessman Rick Fifield, a spokesman for the group. “If the government did that, they would realize that this is unethical.”

Fifield spoke with the provincial Finance Minister Tom Marshall, Wednesday at a pre-budget meeting in St. John's.

The province collected $65 million from VLTs in 2008, but Fifield believes an independent study would find that gambling-related crime, suicides and addiction treatment cost the province far more than the millions the machines generate.

During the pre-budget consultation process, Marshall has listened to many groups make pitches for public money.

On Wednesday, he defended the government’s reliance on VLT money.

“You heard today the various asks that people wanted, and the revenue we get from that can satisfy a lot of those asks,” said Marshall.