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American Morning
Atlantic City Set to Start Banning Compulsive Gamblers
Aired September 10, 2001 - 10:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The gambling mecca of the East Coast is taking a big chance this morning because, starting today, Atlantic City, New Jersey is going to start banning some compulsive gamblers on a voluntary basis.
More than two million Americans are considered to be gambling addicts. Compulsive gambling is classified as a mental disorder. It's a dependence like alcoholism.
Atlantic City's program is going to let the gamblers register themselves. Now, those addicts caught in casinos after doing so are going to be forced to give up their winnings. But can this program work? Well, let's find out.
Keith Whyte is with the National Council on Problem Gambling. He's in our Washington bureau.
Good morning, Mr. Whyte, thank you for coming in.
What is your first take on this kind of a program, because it is totally voluntary, it requires the gambler, him or herself, to actually be the first one to act in this case?
KEITH WHYTE, NATL. COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING: Absolutely. Good morning.
One of the things that we're -- that's interesting about the program is that, and one of the first precepts Gamblers Anonymous, is to take responsibility for your own actions. So, using that as a base point, self-exclusion programs, like New Jersey's, do make some conceptual and theoretical sense.
Our concern is that this is only just a tiny fraction of the response that you would need to really prevent, really help problem gamblers. And by that I mean, self-exclusion alone, while it's a good step, is now way near a comprehensive prevention, education and treatment program as you would have with alcoholism or drug abuse. You know, self-exclusion is a very limited form of intervention for pathological gamblers. It does nothing...
HARRIS: It is rather notable, though, to see that the industry is actually encouraging gamblers to actually do this, though, is it not? WHYTE: We think it's a great think, and it's clearly in their best interest. And we are pleased that the casino industry is onboard with this and that the regulators are onboard with this as well. We think it's a good step, but it's perhaps a little bit late in the game. New Jersey's had casino gambling since 1976.
HARRIS: Now, do you know any more about how exactly this would be enforced? Because I've been to a couple of casinos before, I will admit, and as I remember it, you don't have to show any ID when you come in, you don't have to show any ID or anything to the person if you're handing in your money or you're placing a bet or anything. So how does the casino actually even know if you are there and you are winning?
WHYTE: Absolutely. That's an extraordinarily difficult process. Enforcement is one of the keys to this. The fact that they are going to prohibit people from winning large jackpots is certainly a disincentive, but to my knowledge, there's no real technological solutions to this right now; there may be some on the horizon. But enforcement is a extraordinarily issue. And pathological gamblers in other states, where they have self-exclusion, have worn disguises or concealed themselves in other ways, use fake IDs.
HARRIS: No way. Really?
WHYTE: So...
HARRIS: That shows you that that's a problem if you've got to do something like that.
WHYTE: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, let me ask you this: Would it be better, do you think, if it was a program that would invite or allow family members of addicted gamblers to actually do the same sort of thing, to step, because the gambler himself may not be the first one to make the move here?
WHYTE: You're right, they're probably in denial or they're out gambling or they may have convinced themselves -- you know, this a mental health disorder -- they may have convinced themselves that they're actually one bet away from turning everything around.
Yes, family members being able to exclude, is a possible solution, although that raises certain issues of individual rights and freedoms. But again, pathological gamblers in treatment tell us that they started gambling seriously for money between $10 to 12. So unless you're doing prevention in schools, unless you're doing education, and the most important part is -- if these people that sign the list are pathological gamblers, what is the state of New Jersey doing to help them get treatment for their issue?
HARRIS: Yes.
WHYTE: Not simply keeping them out of the casinos, but actually treatment to improve the lives of the gambler and their families. That's the most important part, that self-exclusion is just the first step. It's the resources that need to be available for the people after they self-exclude -- or, ideally, to prevent them from having the problem in the first place; that's where we need to be focusing our efforts.
HARRIS: Well, we'll keep our eyes on it and see how it develops.
Keith Whyte, we thank you very much for your time this morning.
WHYTE: Thank you, Leon.
HARRIS: All right now, if any of you out there watching this morning think that you may have a problem with gambling, here are two places that you can turn to for help: The National Council on Problem Gambling has a toll-free hotline number, that number is 1-800-522- 4700, you see it there; and/or you can now log onto www.ncpgambling -- one word -- .org for more information on all this. Check it out.
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