The Detroit News recently reported more than 4,600 people have placed themselves on Michigan’s Disassociated Persons List, banning themselves from entering casinos forever. But that number is less than 2 percent of the approximately 300,000 adults estimated to be problem gamblers in Michigan.
After signing up, an individual who enters a casino is guilty of misdemeanor trespass, punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Any winnings are seized by the state and placed in a fund that goes toward problem gambling education and treatment.
Since 2005, the state has seized more than $1 million, with more than half of that taken in the past five years, according to Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Rick Kalm. He said it’s difficult for Detroit casinos to keep self-blacklisted gamblers out. Most of the time a casino comes in contact with someone on the list “after they win the jackpot,” he said.
Michigan Association on Problem Gambling President Michael Burke said
disassociated gamblers tell him they have returned to Detroit casinos although they can’t win. Burke, a former problem gambler, said they’re often more addicted to the action of gambling than the money.
Detroit attorney Joyce Reasonover said she advises her clients not to join the voluntary blacklist. She said most individuals sign the form under duress and without an attorney. “Everybody who puts themselves on that list, they’re going through something in their lives. They need counseling,” Reasonover said.
Among other reforms, Reasonover suggested allowing a cooling-off period between when an individual expresses interest and when he or she joins the list, as well as having an attorney present on the signee’s behalf and offering counseling before an individual gets into legal trouble.
