Self-banning for
gambling addicts for PA casinos
Letting gambling addicts to deal with their
casino problems by themselves proved useless for the state of
Pennsylvania.
Since slots were legalized last November, a
state program that allows compulsive gamblers to effectively ban
themselves from casinos has signed up only 52 people so far.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates,
there are almost 500,000 people in the state with gambling
problems (125,000 of them classified as Pathological gamblers),
and 52 out of that big number is not even a drop in the sea.
Under the program, people can impose self-ban
on themselves from being allowed to enter casinos in the state,
or forfeit their winnings. People who banned themselves would
not receive casino promotional materials, as well. The names of
people who decide to take this step is entered into a database
which is queried by the casino when a check is cashed or a
credit card used.
The Pennsylvania casino self-ban sprung from a
similar option for New Jersey residents. At N.J. only 580 have
signed up for the six years the program has been in place.
Five new casinos are planned to open by the
end of the year in Pennsylvania.
05/29/2007
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