CLEVELAND – Thousands have visited the Horseshoe Casino since it opened a week ago.
But, now, some gamblers are starting to ban themselves from going.
The Casino Control Commission offers a Voluntary Exclusion Program for those who worry about gambling addiction, said Responsible Gaming Program Coordinator Laura Clemens.
“A lot of people are interested,” Clemens said. “We have had an awful lot of calls, now it’s just the logistics of signing them up.”
The Voluntary Exclusion Program would prevent people from entering any state gaming facility, Clemens said. If a person is caught gambling, they would be arrested on trespassing charges. If a person makes any wins, they would forfeit that money to the state’s gaming problem program.
“The first year, we’re expecting to get lots and lots of people added to the list,” she said. “Pennsylvania has 16,000 and Indiana has 4,000 to 6,000. We can probably count on being somewhere in the middle there. When all four casinos are open, I think we’ll see those numbers swell.”
The program is completely voluntary and prevents people from a state casino for one year, five years or for a lifetime, Clemens said. If a person is on the one- or five-year list, they can be removed from the program. However, those who sign up for a lifetime will never be able to change that status.
People can enroll in the Voluntary Exclusion Program by going to any casino Control Commission Offices.
“Each casino has a Casino Control Commission office,” Clemens said. “They can go to Columbus or we’ll go to them. There’s certainly a lot of emotion behind. It. When people are ready to do this, we want to make it as easy on them as possible.
For more information about the Voluntary Exclusion Program, go to
http://casinocontrol.ohio.gov/ResponsibleGaming.aspx
Clemens said you can also contact the Ohio Problem Gambling Hotline at 1 (800) 589-9966 or contact her via e-mail at Laura.Clemens@casinocontrol.ohio.gov.