State Roundup on Responsible Gaming
A variety of responsible gaming initiatives are taking place in government, private industry and the problem gambling treatment community across the United States. The following is a roundup of the latest activities.
Gambling treatment programs in Iowa, Kansas, Missouriand Nebraska combined resources to host the first Midwest Conference on Problem Gambling and Substance Abuse. The conference, held Aug. 11-13 in Kansas City, Mo., offered attendees the opportunity to learn from nationally recognized experts in the field of gambling treatment. Speakers included Francis G. Biagioli, program administrator of the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program; William Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno; and Ken Winters, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology as the University of Minnesota. Kevin Mullally, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, led a session on self-exclusion and participated in a panel discussion on state responses to problem gambling and co-occurring disorders.
The three-day multistate conference, hosted by the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling, was the highlight of that state's Responsible Gaming Education Month, which coincides with the American Gaming Association's annual Responsible Gaming Education Week.
The gaming industry in Iowa recently expanded its voluntary self-exclusion program, offering customers even more options to help curb disordered gambling behavior.
Casinos there now give individuals the ability to ban use of their credit cards at a specific property. The arrangement is made by phone directly with the credit card company at the casino's credit card machine kiosks or by completing and returning a paper form.
"Most people can use their credit wisely and responsibly, but for those who can't self-exclusion may be a helpful tool," said Wes Ehrecke, president of the Iowa Gaming Association, which announced the new access to credit ban during the AGA's annual Responsible Gaming Education Week in early August.
In addition, the industry's "TRESPASS" program, which previously allowed individuals to ban themselves from entering specific casinos, now provides an option to self-exclude statewide. By enrolling in the program, a person agrees that he or she can be arrested for trespassing and will forfeit to the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program any winnings, slot credits or chips.
A provision in a comprehensive gaming bill passed this year by the Iowa legislature called for the industry to offer the option of statewide self-exclusion.
The Iowa Gaming Association also is leading an effort to bring to the state the First Step to Change tool kit, created by Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions in association with the Massachusetts Council on Problem Gambling. The tool kit includes an interactive questionnaire and guide aimed to help individuals understand their gambling habits, determine if there is a need for change in their behavior and learn how to begin that journey. Iowa will be able to customize these brochures by including a "More Steps to Change" insert detailing numerous service and treatment options available to problem gamblers in Iowa. The tool kit will be available at each casino as well as at gambling treatment counseling centers and to callers of the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program's help line at 1-800-BETSOFF.
Iowa is one of several states nationwide currently seeking to bring First Step to Change to their areas.
