Last month, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) published a massive report that graded each state’s responsible gambling legislation. Pennsylvania is one of 10 states that achieved at least 40 of the NCPG’s 82 standards from the report.
Responsible gambling in Pennsylvania is of the utmost importance to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) and Liz Lanza, director of the Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling.
Though the Keystone State met only slightly more than half of the NCPG’s standards, that doesn’t mean Pennsylvania is lacking in responsible gambling efforts. In an exclusive interview earlier this month, Lanza talked to PlayPennsylvania about the report’s benefits.
Report focuses on responsible gambling legislation
The NCPG takes on the tall task of examining legislatures’ action on responsible gambling in states that have legalized gambling, whether sports betting, online casinos, or both. Pennsylvania is one of seven states that have both gambling verticals.
Connecticut, New Jersey, and Virginia most closely matched the NCPG’s standards, with each state checking off 49. The Keystone State wasn’t far behind, coming in with 43.
According to Lanza, the NCPG looks at what is written at the legislative level and doesn’t necessarily drill down to the policies and procedures, which would be an even bigger task. Lanza explained,
“I would say most states, and Pennsylvania is one of them, are doing things that aren’t being counted because it’s not written in regulation form. That’s not to say every single one of us [doesn’t] have work to do and shouldn’t be striving to make our regulation and policies better as a result of these reports.”
There isn’t a perfect way for the NCPG to grade states’ standards. It would require much more staffing and funding for the council to review each state’s policies and procedures. However, while the report isn’t perfect, it gives Lanza a greater understanding of the responsible gambling space.
“I think everyone understands it’s a broad overview of what we’re all doing,” she said. “That’s when it’s up to us to reach out to each other and look at other jurisdictions.”
Because it is a broad overview that focuses on legislation, Lanza said, the PGCB actually is reaching many of the standards it did not get credit for in the report. Despite that, she considers it “super helpful.”
Report called ‘gold standard’ for examining states’ efforts
Lanza said that her office and the PGCB regard the NCPG as the “gold standard” for assessing states’ responsible gambling practices.
“There’s not much out there that compares state to state. So the reports that are out there that do are very helpful[…]There are things that we use from these reports to see and judge where we’re at, and see how we can improve,” she said.
Lanza believes that communication between states is vital. That makes the NCPG’s report necessary and important, even though it might leave room for improvement.
Biggest takeaways from the NCPG report
Technology is a crucial tool to facilitate responsible gambling messaging to customers all over the country. For Pennsylvania and other states, Lanza believes there will be even further technological advances to help with responsible gambling.
“There are programs available now that take in player behavior and process it,” she said.
For example, new technology can detect when a player increases bet sizes on a daily or monthly basis. Responsible gambling messaging could help bettors get in front of a potential issue.
“Maybe we should flag this and send some responsible gambling messaging to this person, along with information on limits. I think that’s what you’re going to be seeing soon,” Lanza explained. “As this technology develops even more, regulators are going to start requiring more things like that.”
Lanza said she is interested in the technology New Jersey requires from operators to ensure responsible gambling. She can see Pennsylvania implementing it soon.
While Pennsylvania was one of the report’s higher-ranking states, there’s more work to be done, according to Lanza.
“I am very happy to see that we are one of the top states and, at the very least, on the right path for exactly where we want to be heading. It gives [us a] reason to strive and get those pieces in place.”
While Lanza said she’s happy about the report’s results, she isn’t satisfied and will continue to promote responsible gambling messaging for all Pennsylvanians.