Does Nevada Have a Self-Exclusion Policy or Law?

Does Nevada have a gambler self-exclusion policy?

Nope. No such thing in the Silver State (which stands, these days, for all the silver going into the casino coffers).

As Keith Whyte, director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, likes to say, “Nevada takes a traditional approach — ‘Leave your money here and take your problems back home with you.’” Other states do much better.

In fact, 34 states have laws requiring self-exclusion programs. Forty-four have casino gambling. Two have self-exclusion policies for their lotteries.

Most of the 10 states without the law leave it up to the individual casinos and/or operators to sponsor their own programs. It's true for Nevada, where the only requirement by regulation is what's been called a "toothless" self-limitation rule. It has a facility for gamblers to opt out of receiving an individual casino's direct marketing, along with comps and credit. But it doesn't restrict that players' gambling or require the casino to physically ban the guest.

It doesn't take much imagination to come up with why doesn't Nevada have a self-exclusion law. We dare say it's the same reason that casinos get a pass from indoor-smoking regulations. We're talking the golden goose here, even in the face of a powerful responsible-gambling movement in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

The "official" reasons include the argument that a one-size-fits-all regulation would be cumbersome to integrate among Nevada licensees of different sizes and more so, precious little public funding, currently around $1.2 million a year, compared to the nearly $15 billion the state's casinos raked in last year and the 6.75% tax on that, roughly $800 million, that the state collects from the gross gambling win.

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Kevin Lewis Oct-01-2023

Happens all the time!

You gamble. You lose. You run out of cash. You max out your credit card(s). Boom! You've excluded yourself. What's the problem?

In fact, it's just like quitting smoking--you can do it as many times as you want!

jay Oct-01-2023

Not entirely toothless

If you have signed up for self exclusion in Nevada.
They don’t flag you when you walk in the door (as they should) but if your recognized at a table they not only don’t pay your win they confiscate any cheques (chips) on the table and have the right to charge you with trespassing. So while not being entirely effective the programs are not entirely toothless and to Kevin’s point heavily fa or the casino coffers.

O2bnVegas Oct-01-2023

will it work?

The most successful of addiction/behavior changing programs involve group support like with AA.  Applying for self-exclusion from casinos would be an excellent step in the right direction (admitting one has the problem), but casinos can't be expected to address and treat the underlying pathology of addiction.  Self-exclusion alone seems like more of a 'shaming' system, more punishment than therapy.  The addict needs a buddy system or group system to be accountable to, goal setting, meetings with other addicts led by trained persons/professionals. 

In short, beyond partnering with GA by providing material, phone numbers on web sites, etc., all good measures which may get someone started on the road to recovery, I can't see it being the responsibility of casinos.

I have two friends who succeeded, one from alcohol and one from Rx drug addiction.  Both say that despite sucessful recovery they still depend on the meetings to maintain sobriety.

Candy

David Miller Oct-01-2023

Everyone Has An Opinion

 Here is mine -- (From Google) -- "Personal responsibility, also called individual responsibility, is the belief that human beings choose and control their own actions and destiny."  I'll say that again -- "Personal responsibility, also called individual responsibility, is the belief that human beings choose and control their own actions and destiny."

Kevin Lewis Oct-01-2023

Repetitiveness

Saying something twice doesn't add to its veracity, and doesn't even add emphasis. In fact, it does the opposite. It conveys the impression that the writer/speaker doesn't really believe what he's saying.

David Miller Oct-01-2023

Stalking

  This unwarranted comment is, by definition, stalking ( harass or persecute (someone) with unwanted and obsessive attention) --	
Kevin LewisOct-01-2023
Repetitiveness
Saying something twice doesn't add to its veracity, and doesn't even add emphasis. In fact, it does the opposite. It conveys the impression that the writer/speaker doesn't really believe what he's saying.

Hoppy Oct-01-2023

Lady Luck

Re: Kevin and David. "Personal Responsibility "? What Responsibility does Lady Luck have? Just a thought.

Jeff Oct-01-2023

Gambling is an official, DSM, psychiatric disorder

Fortunately, the commenter who believes addictions (including gambling) are caused by moral weakness rather than by a treatable medical disorder belongs to a dying breed of moralizing no-nothings. In fact, I didn't think there were any such folks left.

"In a November 2016 report, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., publicly confirmed what researchers have known for years: Addiction is a chronic illness accompanied by significant changes in the brain.

Addiction does not occur because of moral weakness, a lack of willpower or an unwillingness to stop. This finding stems from decades of work investigating the effects of substance use on the brain."

Duh.

Kevin Lewis Oct-01-2023

Personal responsibility

David Miller butchered the definition of this term. It isn't a "belief," and it isn't the concept that people control their own destiny. It's the concept that people are responsible for their own choices and the consequences thereof. Nobody has more than partial control over their own destiny.
The argument could be made that people who are problem gamblers are as much victims as they are responsible for their conditions. Self-exclusion is an attempt to reclaim the power that gambling has over one's life. Not always successful, of course.
Oh, and David...if you don't like being "stalked," why do you enjoy stalking others so much?

Question of the Day - 01 October 2023

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