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New Jersey to Expand Problem Gambling Program

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, New Jersey – As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer: "They set up shop just off the Black Horse Pike, 10 miles from Atlantic City, across from the Jaguar dealer, in a flat-roofed blue building surrounded by tall trees.

"And then they waited for gamblers who wanted to sign up with the state to ban themselves from the casinos.

"…The idea was to set up a site outside Atlantic City, in this case a counseling office on a Tuesday evening, to encourage those whose gambling problems made them reluctant to even go near a casino. After two years, the Casino Control Commission's self-exclusion list had just reached 215 - far fewer than in other states.

"…[Gambling counselor Harvey] Fogel said he was pleased with the results: four more people added to a program that counselors and gamblers alike say can be another tool in recovery. Signing up means casinos must stop sending promotional materials and offering incentives to gamble. Those on the list are banned from the casinos and must forfeit any winnings. The casinos, which receive pictures and names of all on the list, cannot keep the losses. Such money is divided among the state's Casino Revenue Fund and treatment programs for compulsive gamblers.

"…The New Jersey Casino Control Commission says it wants to expand the program's reach by establishing sites other than the commission offices in Atlantic City and the Division of Gaming office in Trenton.

"In New Jersey, the commission is trying to expand outside Atlantic City - the commission recently amended the program to permit locations outside the two permanent sites in Atlantic City and Trenton…"

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