Proposal would let gamblers ban themselves from casinos in New Jersey

John Curran

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000 | 2:41 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Compulsive gamblers who can't resist the lure of clinking slot machines and spinning roulette wheels may soon get a new tool to help themselves.

The state of New Jersey, which maintains a list of mobsters, cheats and others who are banned from entering casinos, is proposing a "self-exclusion" program that would allow problem gamblers to ban themselves.

Under it, gamblers could register with the state and provide a photograph of themselves to casinos, which would then be required to deny them access to games, credit, complimentary items, check-cashing privileges, players club perks, direct-mail promotions and other benefits.

The initiative, announced Monday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, mirrors similar efforts in Connecticut, Missouri, Michigan and Louisiana.

It still must be approved by the state Casino Control Commission to take effect.

One casino gambling critic called the proposal window dressing, aimed at masking the fact that casinos depend on gambling addicts for their profits.

"I won't slam any recognition by casinos that there's a problem, but if this is the best they can do for a diseased person, telling them 'It's going to rely on you to treat yourself,' then the problem will persist," said the Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion. "Don't forget, their profitability comes from people who are pathological gamblers."

An estimated 16 million Americans have experienced gambling problems at some point in their lives, according to the National Research Council.

The director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, J.P. Suarez, said anyone on the list discovered in a casino would be escorted off by security guards, Suarez said.

They would not face criminal sanctions, however, and the ban would not be permanent. A person could have his name removed from the list by formally requesting it and waiting 30 days, Suarez said.

Casinos, meanwhile, could face cash penalties for violating the ban, Suarez said.

The Division of Gaming Enforcement is in discussions with the state attorney general's office about the possibility of forcing casinos and excluded gamblers to forfeit money won or lost by a person while on the self exclusion list, Suarez said.

No regulation has been proposed for that yet, he said.

Edward Looney, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, applauded the self-exclusion proposal Tuesday. He said many recovering gamblers reported relapses after receiving promotional literature or invitations from casinos in the mail.

"There are not going to be thousands and thousands of people signing up for this. These programs have been in place elsewhere and the numbers haven't been large. But the ones who are serious about getting rid of the temptations, they will go along with it," Looney said.

Grey, an anti-casino crusader who travels the country organizing opposition to ballot referendums on casino gambling, said the proposal is "a day late and a dollar short."

"How long have you had casinos there? Twenty years? Now, 20 years down the road, they've discovered self-exclusion? When they start moving the ATMs and credit offices off the casino floors, I'll take them seriously," Grey said.