NCLGS Provides Clarity on their Responsible Gaming and Problem Gambling Resolution

By: Sara Dalsheim

This past July the National Council of Legislators From Gaming States (NCLGS) Summer Meeting took place in Denver, Colorado. The Meeting occurs twice a year and brings together state legislators, regulators, attorneys, and industry representatives to discuss and confer on developments within the gaming industry.

Throughout the Meeting there was an emphasis on responsible gaming and combatting problem gambling. During the first full day of events the committee on responsible gambling approved the NCLGS Responsible Gaming and Problem Gambling Resolution.

The Resolution contains sixteen points with the goal to set forth comprehensive standards to be followed by legislators and regulators in all states to increase protective factors and reduce prevalence and incidence rates and the personal, familial, and societal costs associated with problem gambling. Some of the notable points include:

• Recommending the establishment of responsible gaming and problem gambling regulations for all forms of legalized gaming, tailored as necessary to each form but consistent with jurisdictional policy goals.
• Suggesting that states and operators coordinate gambling exclusion lists to prevent people with gambling problems and others on exclusion lists from problematic play in other states.
• Encouraging policies and programs that enable customers to discontinue their play temporarily or permanently through exclusion programs from gaming activities statewide and across multiple jurisdictions with multiple term lengths.
• Supporting the use of one accredited national problem gambling helpline number within all jurisdictions.
• Recommending integrating problem gambling services and screening into other substance use disorders, mental health and/or behavioral health services to identify, reduce, and prevent problem gambling.
• Emphasizing the need to include access to anonymized player data, research components, and funding for responsible gaming and problem gambling policies to gauge trends, program efficacy, adapt current conditions, and expand evidence-based best practices and new prevention and treatment techniques.

As listed above and discussed throughout the Meeting, a downfall of the multi-jurisdictional approach to problem gambling is the ability of players to move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, even if they have already self-excluded. A key part of promoting responsible gaming will require a joint effort amongst the jurisdictions. Additionally, instead of setting forth responsible gaming regulations that regulators suppose may cause or impact problem gambling, the Resolutions are clear that approaches and solutions should be evidence-based and extensive research should be conducted.

As discussed in the Resolution’s Preamble, there is little standardization nor a holistic approach on how to tackle problem gambling. The Resolution aims to provide a path for all jurisdictions to follow on how best to utilize and disburse funds to be spent to combat problem gambling.