Addiction Specialists Urge Pennsylvania Gaming Board To Rethink Self-Exclusion Change
Addiction specialists and mental health treatment providers are encouraging gaming regulators in Pennsylvania to reconsider a proposed change to the state’s self-exclusion program for casino gambling.
In October, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) proposed an amendment to the casino self-exclusion program.
Under the responsible gaming protocol’s current structure, a self-excluded individual must apply for reinstatement of their gaming privileges once their one- or five-year exclusion period culminates. Self-excluded lifetime bans are permanent and cannot be reversed at the person’s request.
The PGCB says the reinstatement filing necessity results in some excluded persons unknowingly trespassing casinos thinking that their exclusion period had concluded. The PCGB’s three other self-exclusion programs for iGaming, video gaming terminals (VGTs), and fantasy sports automatically restore a person’s access to those verticals following the end of the exclusion period.
Treatment Providers Push Back
The PGCB fielded public comments on the proposed change to the casino self-exclusion program. Nearly all submissions were in opposition.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) wrote the gaming board to stress that the automatic restoration of casino privileges for persons who self-banned carries significant threats to their ongoing recovery from problem gambling.
Individuals in recovery from problem gambling are often intimidated to sign up for a lifetime commitment to self-exclude. They find it more acceptable for them to choose a one- or five-year commitment, while also knowing that those terms will not expire if they do not want them to. Automatically removing an individual from a self-exclusion list, without them requesting it, may lead to relapse from problem gambling recovery,” said Amy Hubbard, the DDAP’s manager of its Compulsive Problem Gambling Section.
Hubbard recommended that the PGCB keep the casino self-exclusion program as is. It’s a position shared by Ken Martz, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Addiction Professionals.
The individuals in the program undertook the protection of the self-exclusion program based on the understating that it would remain in place until they affirmatively revoked the protection. Changing this active protection without their consent and approval damages the recovery support that was requested,” Martz wrote.
Martz agrees with the PGCB that changes to the state’s self-exclusion programs are needed, but he argues it’s the three other initiatives that should change to align with the casino self-exclusion protocols for reinstatement.
“To strengthen support for those struggling with gambling behaviors, we recommend standardizing self-exclusion across all gaming platforms — iGaming, fantasy contests, and VGT — to match the existing structure for casinos,” Martz added.
Relapse Risk
The PCGB argues the casino self-exclusion program change would protect self-excluded persons from potential trespassing charges and reduces the Board’s administrative load.
However, automatic restoration of gaming privileges, more than a dozen mental health and addiction counselors said in submitted comments, shortens a problem gambler’s odds of relapse.
Removing them from the list without their explicit request increases the likelihood of relapse, especially during moments of weakness,” a letter from the Better Institute signed by numerous licensed therapists and councilors in Pennsylvania read. “Relapse can have devastating consequences, including financial ruin, relationship breakdown, and even suicide. This policy change increases the potential for such tragic outcomes.”
The Better Institute, which provides therapy and professional services across the commonwealth, says the PGCB’s proposal contradicts consumer protection basics.
“This change directly contradicts that principle by making it easier for individuals to return to gambling environments despite prior attempts to self-protect,” the letter added.
The state’s casinos largely refrained from commenting on the proposed change. One letter questioned if casinos might target newly removed excluded players should the PGCB’s change be enacted.
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Addiction specialists and mental health treatment providers are encouraging gaming regulators in Pennsylvania to reconsider a proposed change to the state’s self-exclusion program for casino gambling. Individuals on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s casino self-exclusion list cannot enter a physical casino after their exclusion period ends unless they successfully apply to have their gaming privileges…