Keith Piercey, of Corner Brook, N.L., wants his home province to ban VLT gambling machines. (CBC)

A man in western Newfoundland who believes video lottery terminals led to the death of his daughter is campaigning to have the gambling machines banned.

Keith Piercey of Corner Brook said Thursday that he's determined to fight harder after the province's finance minister refused to ban the machines.

At a pre-budget consultation Wednesday, Finance Minister Tom Marshall said the provincial government needs VLT revenues to pay for social programs. In 2008, the province collected $65 million form the machines.

"They're just as addicted as the gambling addicts from the sound of it," said Piercey, whose daughter committed suicide after running up a $100,000 gambling debt.

"The money the government gets comes from the misfortune of others. Sixty-five million dollars took in from VLTs, that's $65 million that people lost."

Susan Piercey died seven years ago after a long struggle with her addiction to VLT gambling.

"She tried to do something about it but as she put it she just couldn't get the monkey off her back," said Piercey Thursday.

Piercey said VLTs are designed to cause misfortune. "The bottom line for those machines is that they're programmed by a human being, so they win and you don't. "

Piercey is trying to start a class action lawsuit to force the province to shut down the machines.

Fending off organized crime

Finance Minister Marshall told CBC News, Thursday, that if the province banned VLTs, more money would end up in the hands of criminals.

He said more people would turn to unregulated, on-line gambling and to gaming controlled by organized crime.

"Rather than have this in the hands of the underworld or organized crime, at least if these revenues are going to be spent by people than it should at least be controlled in some sort of meaningful way so that the revenues will at least go to health care, social services that are needed rather than go in the pockets of criminals," Marshall said.

He said VLT use is decreasing in the province and only a small percentage of people who use the machines have a gambling problem.