A report recently released by the National Council on Problem Gambling found that, on average, states that have legalized gambling met only 32 out of 82 player protection standards outlined by NCPG’s Internet Responsible Gambling Standards.
Ohio, while better than the national average, still fell short of meeting half of those standards, hitting the mark on just 39. While no state was close to perfect, the goal of the report is to help states identify gaps in their current laws and regulations, providing a clear framework for making improvements to better protect consumers and promote responsible gambling.
(The full report can be found here: U.S. States’ Online Sports Betting Regulations: An Evaluation Against National Council on Problem Gambling Standards. And read more about it in this recent Washington Post article.)
We often write in this space about Problem Gambling, the level at which gambling disrupts other areas of your life, or the lives of the people around you. The number of problem gamblers is still on the rise and this is where organizations like ours intervene.
But no individual that I’ve ever worked with started at problematic levels. Rather, for almost everyone, gambling starts as a fun activity – and for some it spirals into a loss of control.
In that vein, we find the NCPG report and events like Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM) to be very worthwhile. Our team spent a week educating community members at Hollywood Casino (see photo above), in addition to other outreach efforts.
The American Gaming Association and their members use September’s RGEM to “highlight the industry’s responsible gaming education efforts. Together, we can promote gaming literacy and consumer education, elevate employee training, and work with partners to advance our understanding of responsible gambling.”
These are all good things to promote, however it should be noted that promoting responsible gaming is still “promoting gambling.” And there are still many skeptics of RGEM out there.
We applaud those in the industry who really do take their responsibility seriously. Most efforts in this space have historically put a lot of the work on the gambler, so the more we can make it a shared responsibility, the better.
Consider that a bar could lose their liquor license if they overserve individuals. Or parents can be charged with a crime if they allow underage individuals to drink at their home. We’ve very clearly shared the responsibility when it comes to other addictive industries. With the data that gambling operators have at their fingertips, they can (and in many cases will) do periodic check-ins to ensure individuals are playing appropriately. This should be a minimum starting point.
The shared responsibility to ensure consumer protections are put in place is even more important now that Ohio is considering expanding online gambling options by becoming the 9th state to offer legalized iGaming.
Data shows that the more accessible online gambling becomes, the more problems come along with it. Our hope is that we can collectively keep our shared responsibility in mind as we consider these expansions.
Need to talk? Our team of experts at Maryhaven are here for you or a loved one, via phone (614-324-5425) or web (https://maryhaven.com/gambling/contact/), whether it be asking a simple question or needing initial resources, all the way to treatment options.
