Illinois gambling regulators are proposing changes to make it easier for people with gambling problems to ban themselves from legal gambling.
The Illinois Gaming Board voted Thursday unanimously to advance three proposed rule changes that would expand enrollment options for the state’s self-exclusion programme, reports CBS.
Nearly 16,000 people are enrolled in the programme, which allows individuals to bar themselves from sports betting, casinos and other forms of legal gambling.
The proposed changes come as gambling continues to expand across Illinois. A state-commissioned study estimates that 383,000 Illinois adults have a gambling problem, while another 761,000 are at risk of developing one.
An investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News Illinois found that the state spent less than 6 cents on gambling addiction treatment for every $100 it collected in gambling tax revenue last year.
Under current rules, gamblers can only enrol in the self-exclusion programme for five years or indefinitely.
The proposed rules would introduce six-month, one-year, and three-year exclusion periods. People choosing those shorter terms would be automatically re-enrolled but could opt out of the programme at any time.
People choosing five-year or indefinite exclusions would still need to provide an affidavit or letter from a certified gambling addiction counsellor confirming they are no longer problem gamblers.
Illinois Gaming Board administrator Marcus Fruchter said the current programme lacks several enrollment options available in other jurisdictions, including notarised mail applications, treatment-provider pathways and an online portal.
“Research shows that shame, embarrassment, stigma and procedural friction at the point of entry are among the barriers most consistently reported by persons who considered but did not complete self-exclusion enrollment,” he said.
Alyssa Wilson, an associate professor at Fresno State University who studies gambling, said Illinois could do more by eliminating the five-year minimum and introducing shorter “cool-off” periods.
A third proposed rule would prevent gambling companies from directing targeted marketing at people leaving the self-exclusion programme for at least 12 months.
The proposals will now go to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for public comment and review. The process could take six months to a year.
Illinois’ self-exclusion programme currently does not cover the state’s more than 50,000 video gaming terminals.
Video gambling operates across about 9,000 locations, including gas stations and carryout restaurants. The machines were not part of the state’s self-exclusion system when the programme was created in 2002.
The Gaming Board passed a resolution Thursday affirming its intention to integrate video gambling into the programme. The board plans to use identity card readers installed at video gaming locations to prevent people on the self-exclusion list from playing.
Fruchter said the system would be implemented across the state’s 9,000 video gaming locations as Illinois moves towards a cashless system.
The state has a $162 million, 10-year contract with LNW Gaming to upgrade its gaming terminals, including adding self-exclusion capabilities. The company has until Dec. 31, 2027, to complete the transition and faces penalties for delays. The changes would leave the Illinois Lottery’s separate self-exclusion programme unaffected.
They would also not apply to the Gaming Board’s involuntary exclusion list. The board can ban people, including those convicted of illegal gambling, from entering casinos, but its authority does not extend to sports betting or video gambling.
Illinois gamblers lost more than $2.5 billion at casinos and the lottery in 2002, when the state’s self-exclusion programme took effect. Last year, losses reached $7.8 billion across casinos, video gaming, the lottery, and sports betting.
“Legalised gambling has grown significantly in Illinois and across the country,” Fruchter said. He added that the expansion, particularly following the 2019 Gaming Expansion Law, requires corresponding updates to the state’s self-exclusion programme.
The Gaming Board also approved a rule bringing fantasy contests under its regulatory framework, as required by the Sports Wagering Act. Fantasy sports are legally distinct from sports gambling under Illinois law but are now required to be included in the voluntary self-exclusion programme. Players must also be at least 21 years old.