More than 1,000 have asked to be banned from Massachusetts casinos
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More than 1,000 gamblers are admitting they need to stop rolling the dice and stay off the gaming floor.
They’ve self-reported to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that they have an addiction, a milestone that a gaming regulator said only touches the surface.
There are 1,020 people actively enrolled in the commission’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion (VSE) program and nearly 1,300 people have participated in the program since it was launched to coincide with the start of legal gambling in 2015.
People can enroll in the program to be barred from gaming floors for one year (28% of enrollees), three years (16% of enrollees), five years (53% of enrollees) or their lifetime (3% of enrollees). Almost 70% of VSE program participants are men and the median age of participants is 46, the commission said.
“I want to say that these numbers of enrollments are impressive and it’s a milestone. But I also want to say that it represents just a small percentage of the number of people that we know in Massachusetts struggle to control their gambling,” Mark Vander Linden, the Gaming Commission’s director of research and responsible gaming.
“I think that we should be proud that we have a program that is there to honor and support a person’s decision to stop gambling,” he added.
The commission pointed to research that showed in 2013 and 2014 about 110,000 Bay State adults or 2% of adult residents met the criteria for problem gambling and that 440,000 residents were at risk for experiencing gambling-related harms.
About 83% of all VSE program participants enroll in the program at one of the state’s three gambling centers by talking to a GameSense advisor, which was the only way to enroll before the pandemic led to a change.
The GameSense program, operated on a contract with the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, “encourages players to adopt behaviors and attitudes that reduce the risk of gambling-related harm” and offers resources other than the VSE program.
Are you worried about your gambling? Here are some warning signs from the state:
- The need to to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement?
- Feeling restless or irritable while trying to stop.
- Lied to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling?
- Asked others for money to bankroll your gambling.
- Jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling?
- You’re often preoccupied with gambling, from reliving past games or preparing for the next one.
If you answered yes to any of those issues, it’s time to call a helpline at 800-327-5050.
