Pennsylvania Reaches 20K Self-Banned Gamblers

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced that on June 5, 2023, it received its 20,000th voluntary request to be excluded from entering and participating in gambling at all Commonwealth casinos and retail sports wagering locations under the agency’s Casino Self-Exclusion Program.

Established in 2006, the program permits individuals to request that they be banned from entering and gambling at a Pennsylvania casino or retail sports wagering location for one year, five years or a lifetime.

The self-excluded individual is informed when they agree to be placed on the list that they could be charged with criminal trespass if they enter a Pennsylvania casino and have any gambling winnings confiscated related to that casino visit.

“The casino self-exclusion program, along with the agency’s three other self-exclusion programs, are effective and proven tools that allow for individuals to regain control over their lives and to learn about other recovery resources,” said Elizabeth Lanza, Director of the Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling. “The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board encourages anyone who thinks they may have a gambling problem to seek treatment and consider taking advantage of the voluntary Self-Exclusion Programs.”

Additional data from Pennsylvania’s program, based upon responses from individuals during the self-exclusion intake interview, showed that 4,335 (21%) of the 20,000 individuals in Pennsylvania had chosen the lifetime ban.

A total of 12,811 males and 7,189 females have enrolled in the self-exclusion program—individuals on this list range between 21 and 102 years of age.

One thousand twenty-six self-excluded individuals chose to re-enroll in the program after previously removing their name from the list, including 307 who selected a lifetime ban at re-enrollment.

Lanza added that many individuals enrolled in the casino self-exclusion program not only engaged in slot machine and table games gambling but other types of gaming activities regulated by the PGCB, such as online casino-type games, sports wagering, video gaming terminals at truck stops and fantasy sports.

To assist individuals who wish to ban themselves from other types of legalized gaming, the PGCB has additional self-exclusion programs.

A total of 3,778 individuals have banned themselves from online casino gambling, including poker. Nearly 800 had self-excluded from fantasy sports. As for VGTs, the list has 1,467 names.