In Maryland, state Delegate Nick Mosby announced he will sponsor legislation to improve the state’s Voluntary Exclusion Program’s funding and effectiveness. The VEP lets problem gamblers enroll and choose to be barred from entering the six casinos in the state. If they’re caught entering a casino they could face arrest and criminal trespassing charges. More than 1,400 individuals have enrolled in the program, which is mostly self-policed.
Participants typically are not discovered inside a casino unless they win a large jackpot, which requires showing identification. Casinos are not required to check customers’ IDs and do not utilize facial recognition software or license plate readers to detect excluded gamblers.
Mosby, whose district represents Baltimore near Horseshoe Casino, said as it stands, the program “is ineffective at best. There’s limited follow-up in the program. More importantly, there’s no way to know if they’re going back in the casino. I’ve talked to gamblers who’ve said they have a problem. There are a lack of resources on this issue.”
Mosby said he plans to propose increasing state funding for problem gambling support and treatment programs. He also said he may ask casino operators to add staff or license plate readers to parking lots and garages to detect known addicted gamblers before they enter casino grounds. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency Responsible Gambling Coordinator Mary Drexler said the state is researching using license plate reader devices at casino parking facilities. “It’s just in the research stages. There is nothing set in stone at this time, but we do think that may be one more avenue that may be helpful,” she said.
In a statement MGM said, “We take every reasonable opportunity to ensure that people on the Voluntary Exclusion Program list are not on our property engaging in gaming. We do not ID every person through the door but we provide the photo and description for each person in the program to surveillance and security. We also upload it to into our internal customer databases so as to flag any gaming activity under the person’s name.”
A Maryland Live! spokeswoman said, “At Live! casino, we take our responsibility to prevent problem gaming very seriously. The state’s Voluntary Exclusion Program requires casinos to refrain from marketing directly to individuals who sign up for the program. It also places the responsibility for staying out of casinos on the program participants themselves. We support this effort on multiple levels, including using technology and security measures to identify and remove such players from our facility.” At least 43 people violated the VEP at Maryland Live! since January 2016, according to Anne Arundel County Police records.
