Expansion of Self-Exclusion List by Illinois Regulators to Aid Gamblers

The changes proposed by the Illinois Gaming Board, which could take years to fully implement, would expand the enrollment options for the self-exclusion list. Nearly 16,000 people have signed up for the list, which allows people to bar themselves from sports betting, casinos and other forms of legalized betting.

The list does not apply to the state’s massive network of more than 50,000 slot machines — a gap that IGB officials

According to a study commissioned by the state, an estimated 383,000 Illinois adults have a gambling problem, and another 761,000 are at risk of developing one. 

An Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News Illinois investigation found that for every $100 the state collected from gambling tax revenues last year, it spent less than 6 cents on addiction treatment. The report exposed holes in the state’s patchwork of treatment resources, including obstacles with the state’s self-exclusion program. 

Addressing roadblocks to self-exclusion

For now, gamblers can only sign up for the self-exclusion list to ban themselves for terms of five years or more. Experts say that roadblock prevents many people from seeking help.

Applicants to the list can visit one of 32 in-person sites in Illinois, half of which are casinos, which for compulsive gamblers may invite additional temptation and discourage signup. Outside Chicago, the options are scarce with only five options that aren’t casinos sanctioned by the Gaming Board.

“Illinois offers no notarized mail alternative, no treatment provider pathway and no online portal presently in operation as offered in comparable jurisdictions,” said Illinois Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter while introducing the rules.

“Research shows that shame, embarrassment, stigma and procedural friction at the point of entry are among the barriers most consistently reported by persons who considered but did not complete self-exclusion enrollment.”

A separate proposed rule looks to add new six-month, one-year and three-year exclusion options, with automatic re-enrollment but the option to opt out of the program at any time. 

People on the five-year or indefinite exclusion tiers would still need to take the step of obtaining an affidavit or letter from a certified gambling addiction counselor. The letter would require the counselor to confirm the individual is no longer a problem gambler, a high bar to pass.

Illinois gambling regulators are looking to make it easier for compulsive gamblers to ban themselves from legal gambling under rules proposed Thursday afternoon.

The changes proposed by the Illinois Gaming Board, which could take years to fully implement, would expand the enrollment options for the self-exclusion list. Nearly 16,000 people have signed up for the list, which allows people to bar themselves from sports betting, casinos and other forms of legalized betting.

The list does not apply to the state’s massive network of more than 50,000 slot machines — a gap that IGB officials

According to a study commissioned by the state, an estimated 383,000 Illinois adults have a gambling problem, and another 761,000 are at risk of developing one. 

An Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News Illinois investigation found that for every $100 the state collected from gambling tax revenues last year, it spent less than 6 cents on addiction treatment. The report exposed holes in the state’s patchwork of treatment resources, including obstacles with the state’s self-exclusion program. 

Addressing roadblocks to self-exclusion

For now, gamblers can only sign up for the self-exclusion list to ban themselves for terms of five years or more. Experts say that roadblock prevents many people from seeking help.

Applicants to the list can visit one of 32 in-person sites in Illinois, half of which are casinos, which for compulsive gamblers may invite additional temptation and discourage signup. Outside Chicago, the options are scarce with only five options that aren’t casinos sanctioned by the Gaming Board.

“Illinois offers no notarized mail alternative, no treatment provider pathway and no online portal presently in operation as offered in comparable jurisdictions,” said Illinois Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter while introducing the rules.

“Research shows that shame, embarrassment, stigma and procedural friction at the point of entry are among the barriers most consistently reported by persons who considered but did not complete self-exclusion enrollment.”

A separate proposed rule looks to add new six-month, one-year and three-year exclusion options, with automatic re-enrollment but the option to opt out of the program at any time. 

People on the five-year or indefinite exclusion tiers would still need to take the step of obtaining an affidavit or letter from a certified gambling addiction counselor. The letter would require the counselor to confirm the individual is no longer a problem gambler, a high bar to pass.

Alyssa Wilson, a Fresno State University associate professor who studies gambling, said she thought “Illinois could really do a lot” if they stopped the minimum five-year term for exclusion. She said shorter “cool-off” periods could reduce barriers for people seeking gambling addiction help.

A third proposed rule would prohibit gambling companies from directing targeted marketing at people coming off the self-exclusion list for a period of 12 months or more.

The IGB voted unanimously to move forward with all three proposed rule changes, which will now go to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for public comment and review, a process which could take six months to a year.

Gambling’s rapid growth

Available gambling options have exploded since the state’s self-exclusion list took effect in 2002. Gamblers in Illinois lost more than $2.5 billion at casinos and the lottery that year, less than a third of the $7.8 billion they lost last year at casinos or on slot machines, the lottery and sportsbetting.