Self-Exclusion Part 2
Stopping a self-proscribed player is easier said than done.
Explains MGM Resorts International Senior Advisor Alan Feldman, “Excluded players often try to play and can, in some cases, continue playing without detection. Casinos use surveillance, ID checks, limited facial recognition, and human surveillance, but that isn’t perfect and excluded players do, on occasion, enter and play. The moment they trigger a need to present identification, such as winning a jackpot of more than $1,200 [the point where games go into ‘IRS lockdown’], or seeking credit, trying to cash a check, etc., they’d be found and asked to leave or detained for law enforcement as local law requires.”
An industry source expands on Feldman’s point. “The way to identify a self-excluded customer (assuming they aren’t recognized on sight) is through photo identification. If a state requires a patron to present ID before entering a casino, that is an obvious way to identify them; otherwise, it would be if they present ID for certain transactions, such as a reportable jackpot, a check-cashing request or a request for casino credit.” Considering that casinos are regularly fined for allowing underage patrons to play, you’d think it would behoove them to card customers upon entry (not that it’s ever happened to us in Nevada, Illinois, or Michigan).
The secret to keeping your illicit winnings is to play small. Says our source, “if you are on the excluded list and you win a reportable jackpot [$1,200 or more], you will immediately forfeit that jackpot (and all other winnings) to the state.” The IRS has pressed the industry to lower that ceiling to $600 — in order to collect more taxes, of course, and not discourage disordered gamblers — but the casinos have successfully fended off that initiative.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, says confiscation “very much depends on the particular program. But generally, self exclusion is an agreement between the player to stay out of the casino and the casino to keep them out. There is usually an explicit provision that if a player violates the agreement they forfeit any winnings, but again this depends entirely on the particular agreement that the individual signs with a particular casino.
“Assuming you’re talking about a Nevada casino. In other states the state gambling commission runs it, in some states it’s the state gaming association, and so on. You have further complexity in that some national operators like Caesars and MGM will bar you from their Vegas properties if you exclude in [Atlantic City or Mississippi] or wherever.” There is no official Nevada policy in this regard.
An industry insider makes clear that this is a regulatory mandate and not the Big Bad Casino coming to take your money. “When you file a self-exclusion request with a state’s gaming regulators, you agree not only to stay out of casinos (on pain of being arrested for trespassing), but that you will forfeit any winnings you receive if you violate the ban. The casino has no choice in the matter. Those forfeited winnings go directly to the state—not the casino.”
The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling’s Carol O’Hare disagrees somewhat. "This is a gray area if there is no state-mandated exclusion program, because regulations and statutes may not allow the operator to withhold winnings from the player, even though they signed the company agreement.” She elaborates, “Most likely it is based on the casino's exclusion policy. Usually they will have you sign a form acknowledging that the casino can charge them with trespass and confiscate winnings if they violate the self-exclusion agreement.”
An example of the exception to the general rule would be Massachusetts. Says the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Teresa Fiore, “Casinos are not permitted to keep money which voluntarily self-excluded individuals wager or lose while gaming. While casino security/surveillance as well as on site regulatory staff do their best to identify voluntarily self-excluded individuals, it is difficult to enforce as it is based on personal recognition. The argument has been made that casinos are quick to identify cheaters on the floor, however, this is because they typically exhibit unique behaviors which staff are trained to look out for. Voluntarily self-excluded players do not exhibit behaviors which would stand out as unusual on the gaming floor.”
Fiore continues, “It is easy for casinos to identify voluntarily self-excluded individuals once they win a jackpot because it requires that the person show their ID. At that point, the cage staff member would be alerted to the player’s exclusion status. We realize that this is not a perfect program; however, we view it as a contract which was voluntarily initiated by an individual struggling with their gambling and do our best to uphold our end of the contract.”
Adds Whyte, “There is a lot of fine print in most exclusions and forfeiture of jackpots is one common one. As you can see, a cynical person might think that some casinos would be lenient or negligent in keeping excluded people out, since if the person loses the casino wins and if they win they lose since the casino takes back the jackpot. Not saying most people or operators are that cynical, but it can lead to that perception among gamblers.”
He concludes, “But this doesn’t mean people should stop using self exclusion, it means everyone should work to make it better. Individuals need to be fully informed of the implications, and most importantly need automatic referrals to counseling and treatment, which is the only way to actually stop gambling problems. Just keeping someone out of the casino but not treating their addiction doesn’t address their underlying compulsion and makes them at high risk to sneak back. Casinos need to be held liable (either in court and/or by the regulator) for egregious breaches and failures to check ID, enforce exclusions. And advocates like us need to work with everyone above to make a more consumer-friendly and consistent system.”
If you’ve banned yourself from a casino, get caught, and have your winnings taken away, take consolation in the fact that in many states, such as Pennsylvania, they’re going to a good cause and not back to the casino. Also, if that’s the extent of your penalty, consider that you got off cheaply.
