New Jersey’s Self-Exclusion Bill
Until now, residents of New Jersey who wanted to prevent themselves from gambling, would need to place their names onto a list and admit that they have a gambling problem. From today, this has changed.
Under legislation approved by a Senate panel, New Jersey residents will now be able to stop themselves from being able to gamble without admitting a gambling problem.
To date, this list includes 1,800 names of which 366 have self-excluded from online gambling while 1,426 have excluded themselves from both online and casino gambling.
According to Donald Weinbaum, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, the need for a person to admit that they have a gambling problem is extreme and until now, it has caused a lot of uncertainty for some who might not have a gambling problem but who would like to self-exclude themselves from gaming.
The new bill (A2444) was passed by the Assembly in March with a 5-0 vote and it will now head to the full state Senate for a vote.
Weinbaum also mentioned that while Pennsylvania also has a self-exclusion list, since they do not require one to admit to a gambling problem, this list had more names in one year than New Jersey did in a decade.
By removing the requirement to admitting that one is a ‘problem gambler’, more people are likely to now self-exclude themselves in New Jersey.
