The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) had plans in place to make self-exclusion removal from a retail casino much easier for those on the list. However, the PGCB announced that it’s reversing course to keep the same rules in place.
Pennsylvania has four self-exclusion lists that individuals can use to help with problem gambling issues. Those are:
- Retail casinos
- Online gambling
- Fantasy sports
- Video-gaming terminals (VGTs)
The online gambling list allows individuals to remove themselves automatically after a one- or five-year period. The PGCB had planned to make the retail self-exclusion list automatic, too.
PGCB Director of Communications, Doug Harbach, told PlayPennsylvania on Friday:
“The Board received many comments including those from professionals and counselors in the problem gambling sphere along with several chairs of gaming oversight committees in the legislature, and determined the best interest of the public was to keep the removal process from casino self-exclusion as it. This is how the process is to work and we appreciate all who took the time to provide comment.”
Why the PGCB was trying to clear up
The PGCB tried to eliminate confusion for Pennsylvania casinos and self-excluded gamblers, who have been charged with trespassing in the pass because of their status.
According to the proposed document, the PGCB said:
“Movement to a unified automatic removal process will eliminate confusion, reduce potential trespass actions and eliminate many administrative proceedings within the board relating to requests for the return of confiscated funds.”’
The PGCB stated that many individuals who sign up for self-exclusion usually forget that they need to request removal off the list. That has had negative effects for those on the list when entering a Pennsylvania casino.
As Harbach noted, the PGCB took the opinions of many experts in the problem gambling space very seriously in order to reverse course.
Jody Bechtold, a Pittsburgh-based gambling addictions expert and CEO of The Better Institute, told PA Spotlight:
“It really slows down an impulsive thought and really helps people think it through. When it’s automatic expiration, people are triggered. They’re tempted by the very act of finding out that they can gamble again if they want to.”
As the process remains the same, individuals are going to have to request for self-exclusion removal for retail casinos.
How to request for retail casino self-exclusion removal
The retail casino vertical is the only self-exclusion list that requires individuals to manually remove themselves from the list. For online gambling, VGTs and fantasy contests, a one- or five-year period automatically gets wiped clean.
The PGCB has strong self-exclusion programs that cover each vertical. For those who want to be removed from the retail casino list, you have to follow the following process, according the PGCB’s self-exclusion page:
“A person may, upon the conclusion of the minimum period of self-exclusion, request to be removed from the Self-Exclusion List by calling 717-346-8300. Individuals who choose the lifetime ban are unable to request removal from the Self-Exclusion List.”
The PGCB makes it very clear of the steps for each list. For retail casinos, individuals have an extra one, which is remaining intact.
