Self-Exclusion Programs
Many states that allow commercial casino gaming operate self-exclusion programs in which people can voluntarily ban themselves from the casinos. For example, Missouri's voluntary exclusion program was created in 1996 after a citizen requested that he be banned from the riverboats because he was unable to control his gambling. As of August 2003 more then 5,800 people were on the exclusion list. The Missouri Gaming Commission requires that the casinos remove self-excluded persons from their direct marketing lists, deny them check-cashing privileges and membership in player's clubs, and cross-check for their names on the list before paying out any jackpots of $1,200 or more. The casinos are not responsible for barring listed people from the casinos, but anyone listed is to be arrested for trespassing if he or she violates the ban and is discovered in a casino. Excluded people can enter the casino for employment purposes, however.
Programs in other states are similar. A self-excluded person discovered in an Illinois casino is to have any chips and tokens in his or her possession taken away and their value donated to charity. The Illinois self-exclusion program runs for five years. After that time, people can be removed from the program if they provide written documentation from a licensed mental health professional that they are no longer problem gamblers.
Self-exclusion in Michigan is permanent; a person who chooses to be in the program is banned for life from Detroit casinos.
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission also offers a program in which people can voluntarily suspend their credit privileges at all Atlantic City casinos. The commission maintains a list of those who have joined the program and shares the list with the casinos.
Hotlines
All of the states operate gambling hotlines that either refer callers to other groups for help or provide counselors over the phone. According to the Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling, 54% of the callers to their hotline obtained the number through a casino.
Hotlines, Treatment, and Loss Limits in Missouri
Missouri operates a twenty-four-hour gambling hotline (1-888-BETS-OFF) that received an average of 335 calls per month during the first half of 2004. Since its inception, the hotline has received more than six thousand calls.
Missouri also offers free treatment to residents suffering from problem gambling and to their families. The program is administered by the Department of Mental Health through a network of private mental health providers that have been certified as compulsive gambling counselors. Until July 2001 the program was funded by communities hosting gambling activities. Passage of Senate Bill 902 means that the state can allocate to the program up to one cent of each $1 admission fee paid to the state.
Iowa's Problem Gamblers Prefer Slot Machines
Iowa's Department of Public Health tracks statistics on clients admitted to its gambling treatment program. Table 6.4 shows the types of gambling that clients had primarily
TABLE 6.4
| Primary type of wagering reported by clients admitted to Iowa Gambling Treatment Program, 1998–2003 | ||||||
| Fiscal year | ||||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| SOURCE: "Iowa Gambling Treatment Program: A Profile of Gamblers Admitted to Treatment in Fiscal Years 1998 through 2003," in Iowa Gambling Treatment Program: A Profile of Gamblers Admitted to Treatment in Fiscal Years 1998 through 2003, Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa Gambling Treatment Program, 2004, http://www.1800betsoff.org/stats4.html (accessed September 2, 2004) | ||||||
| Slots | 59% | 62% | 63% | 59% | 64% | 69% |
| Table games | 16% | 12% | 14% | 11% | 12% | 9% |
| Video | 10% | 9% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 6% |
| Lottery/scratch tickets | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Sports | 2% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Other | 9% | 11% | 6% | 10% | 6% | 6% |
engaged in for the six months prior to their admittance to the program. Data for fiscal years 1998 through 2003 show that slot machines were the game of choice for a majority of the gamblers, accounting for 69% of those admitted to gambling treatment in 2003. Table games were the second most often played games by problem gamblers.
Recent AGA Educational Efforts
In 2004 the AGA published the American Gaming Association Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming. The booklet describes the actions that AGA members pledge to take to ensure that responsible gambling is conducted and encouraged at casinos. These actions include proper training of employees and promotion of responsible gambling at company Web sites and through brochures and signs posted at the casinos. AGA members also agree to provide opportunities for patrons to self-exclude themselves from casino play.
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