The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has announced that the two-thousandth self-exclusion request was received during January under its voluntary programme. Director of the PGCB’s Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling Liz Lanza announced the milestone when she updated the Board at their public meeting yesterday on her bureau’s efforts to help individuals seeking help in controlling their gambling problem.

The four-year-old Self-Exclusion Program assists problem gamblers who choose to ban themselves from gambling at Pennsylvania casinos. Once a person is placed on the Self-Exclusion List, gaming facilities in the Commonwealth must:
• Refuse wagers from and deny any gaming privileges to a self-excluded person.
• Deny check cashing privileges, player club membership, complimentary goods and services, junket participation and other similar privileges and benefits to a self-excluded person.
• Ensure that self excluded persons do not receive junket solicitations, targeted mailings, telemarketing promotions, player club materials or other promotional materials relating to gaming activities at its licensed facility.
• Notify the Pennsylvania State Police of violations of the ban. A self-excluded individual who violates the ban will be subject to arrest and charged with trespass.
"The Self-Exclusion Program has continued to grow into a very effective and proven tool to assist a problem gambler in removing himself or herself from the temptation of gambling," said Lanza.

Of those people requesting self-exclusion, 54% chose a 1-year ban, 20% a 5-year ban, and 26% the lifetime ban (though there is no automatic removal, no one will be removed from the list until they personally request removal). Individuals listed 18 states in which they held primary residence. This includes 1,751 from Pennsylvania, 114 from New Jersey, 39 from New York, 37 from Delaware, and 31 from Ohio.

The National Center for Responsible Gaming provides additional information on the value of the Self-Exclusion Program through a study titled “Evaluating Self-Exclusion as an Intervention for Disordered Gambling”. (E-01.27.11)

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