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Pennsylvania gambling self-exclusions have surged since online casinos launched in 2019, with enrollment spreading beyond counties that host casinos.
Blair County illustrates that shift. It recorded 115 residents self-excluding last year, according to Pittsburgh’s Public Source, citing Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board data. Only six residents enrolled during the decade before 2019.
Last year’s total gave Blair County the state’s third-highest concentration of self-exclusions, roughly one enrollment for every 1,000 residents.
Self-Exclusion Reaches a Broader Population
Before online casinos opened, Pennsylvania’s self-excluders largely lived in and around counties with land-based casinos, Public Source reported.
The enrollment population has since become more rural, whiter, younger and more male. By 2020, about five men were self-excluding for every two women.
Elizabeth Lanza linked the increase to round-the-clock online access.
“A lot of those people just didn’t gamble on a regular basis until the online gambling came and now they have access to it 24/7,” Lanza told Public Source.
The program also reaches beyond Pennsylvania residents. Hundreds of people from New Jersey, New York and Delaware have enrolled in Pennsylvania’s self-exclusion system.
How Pennsylvania’s Gambling Restrictions Work
Pennsylvania gamblers can enroll in self-exclusion online. The program applies only to the commonwealth’s licensed gambling platforms.
People caught gambling in person while self-excluded can face trespassing citations and confiscation of winnings. Casino operators call police when they catch an excluded person gambling.
Online violations involving another person’s identity are typically reported to authorities for fraud. Online self-exclusions end automatically when the selected exclusion period expires.
Lanza said self-exclusion programs have helped more than 30,000 people experiencing gambling problems. Research cited by Public Source found participants reported fewer financial problems and improved quality of life.
But research also documents limitations. A Swedish study found that 38% to 49% of people who self-excluded continued gambling.
“It is not a cure-all. It is not treatment,” Lanza said.
“We always do recommend that individuals seek some type of either self-help or more formal treatment when they enroll in self-exclusion. But it has been a very successful tool.”
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Source: As reported by Pittsburgh’s Public Source.
