Pennsylvania Considers Loosening Rules for Formerly Self-Excluded Gamblers

Self-excluded gamblers at land-based casinos in Pennsylvania (like the Mohegan in Wilkes-Barre seen here) could soon find it a bit easier to start playing again. (Image: courtesy of Mohegan PA)

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is considering a change to its regulations that would automatically lift casino bans for self-excluded individuals once their agreed upon bans expire, according to a report by the Pittsburgh Union Progress. 

Such a change would bring the casino self-exclusion rules in line with those for video gaming terminals (VGTs), online gambling, and fantasy sports, all of which expire after a predetermined length of time.

Gambling Addiction Experts Come Out Against Change

Currently, however, bettors who exclude themselves from land-based casinos in Pennsylvania must request to be removed from the exclusion list before they can reenter a gaming facility. That can only be done after an individuals chosen exclusion length has passed.

The proposed change was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin last month. The Gaming Control Board will accept public comment on the issue until November 26. If the rule change is implemented, it would only impact new gamblers who join a self-exclusion list; those who have already self-excluded would be subject to the rules at the time they did so.

There were 35,000 individual enrollments in Pennsylvania’s self-exclusion program as of mid-October. About 23,700 of those were specifically for land-based casinos. Individuals can choose between one-year, five-year, and lifetime bans from most forms of gaming, or can choose any number of years for self-exclusion from fantasy sports.

Multiple individuals working for organizations that deal with problem gambling told the Pittsburgh Union Progress that they opposed the idea of weakening the current self-exclusion regulations.

“Self-exclusion is a very effective step to take,” Jody Bechtold, CEO of The Better Institute and a gambling addiction expert, told the Union Progress. “They’re afraid of getting arrested. They’re afraid of getting in trouble, and it’s enough for them to make a better decision. But for many people, we say self-exclusion in and of itself is not enough, so by changing this policy, they’re literally making it even less effective.”

Bechtold says that the time when a self-exclusion expires can be dangerous for a compulsive gambler.

“I’ve seen it firsthand multiple times when it expires. For the online [gambling], people literally go gambling again,” Bechtold said. “They lose a ton of money because they haven’t gambled in a while, and then they feel more shame, more guilt.”

Self-Exclusion Change Would Ease Regulatory Burden

Proponent of the change say that there are unintended consequences to keeping people banned from casinos even after their agreed upon self-exclusion term has ended.

Gaming Control Board communications director Doug Harbach told the Union Progress that individuals have entered casinos after their self-exclusion period has concluded, have won money, only to later be found to have never ended their casino ban – meaning their winnings are confiscated and they may be charged with trespassing. 

Those cases are often appealed to the Gaming Control Board.

“This is taking a lot of staff time, and in some cases, for $100,” Harbach told the Union Progress. 

While individuals may face consequences for entering a casino while excluded, casino operators have responsibilities to keep them out as well. Last month, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board fined the operator of Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia $50,000 after the facility allowed four individuals on the self-exclusion list to gamble there for up to 21 hours.