New Jersey acts to help problem gamblers, sets ad standards

Apr 20, 2023, 12:49 PM

A dealer conducts a card game at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., Dec. 2, 2022. Figu...

A dealer conducts a card game at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., Dec. 2, 2022. Figures released April 10, 2023, by New Jersey gambling regulators show the city's nine casinos collectively posted a gross operating profit of $731 million in 2022, down 4.6% from the previous year. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey is changing its gambling regulations to set advertising standards, making it easier for people with gambling problems to exclude themselves from casinos and marketing from the gambling houses and creating a position to monitor how well the state’s problem gambling outreach efforts are working.

Speaking Thursday at the East Coast Gaming Congress, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin unveiled a set of new responsible gambling regulations and initiatives.

They include setting standards for casino and sports betting advertising, requiring that New Jersey’s 1-800-GAMBLER hotline be prominently displayed in their ads; prohibiting promises of “guaranteed wins” or “risk-free” bets if the patron will not be fully compensated for the loss of their funds; and making wagering requirements clear in their terms and conditions.

It also limits advertising in locations where that would entice those under 21 years of age to gamble; and requires gambling operators to provide the public with the ability to swiftly opt out of direct advertising.

“As New Jersey’s gaming and sports wagering industries continue to grow and mature, so do our obligations to assist patrons who are at risk for problem gambling,” Platkin said.

He said the measures “will help protect consumers and make it easier for individuals to access the help they need when their gaming behavior becomes problematic.”

Just days before February’s Super Bowl, New Jersey gambling regulators unveiled new requirements for sports books to analyze the data they collect about their customers to look for evidence of problem gambling, and to take various steps to intervene with these customers when warranted.

On Thursday, the attorney general’s office created a new position within its Division of Gaming Enforcement to monitor how well that and other responsible gambling initiatives are working.

The agency will also make it easier for people with a gambling problem to add their names to New Jersey’s voluntary self-exclusion lists. The lists are circulated to casinos and gambling-related affiliates, requiring them not to let people on the list gamble in person or online, and prohibiting sending gambling marketing materials to them.

Instead of meeting in person with a state official or applying online, people can now have a video conference to add themselves to the list. A round-the-clock telephone help line also will be established to answer questions about self-exclusion and to help people sign up.

Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, praised the moves and said he hopes they will be copied by states across the country.

___

Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

United States News

FILE - A person, reflected in glass, walks near the Tropicana Las Vegas on May 16, 2023, in Las Veg...

Associated Press

Las Vegas ballpark pitch revives debate over public funding for sports stadiums

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Gov. Joe Lombardo wants to help build Major League Baseball’s smallest ballpark, arguing that the worst team in baseball can boost Las Vegas, a city striving to call itself a sports mecca. Debate about public funding for private sports clubs has been revived with the Oakland Athletics ballpark proposal. The […]

1 day ago

FILE - Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at an ...

Associated Press

Carter and the Kings: A friendship and alliance — but after MLK’s assassination

ATLANTA (AP) — The voice of Martin Luther King Sr., a melodic tenor like his slain son, carried across Madison Square Garden, calming the raucous Democrats who had nominated his friend and fellow Georgian for the presidency. “Surely, the Lord sent Jimmy Carter to come on out and bring America back where she belongs,” the […]

1 day ago

Last seasons plant stalks are seen at Seth Jacobs' marijuana planting field at his Slack Hollow far...

Associated Press

Slow start to New York’s legal pot market leaves farmers holding the bag

ARGYLE, N.Y. (AP) — Seth Jacobs has about 100 bins packed with marijuana flower sitting in storage at his upstate New York farm. And that’s a problem. There aren’t enough places to sell it. The 700 pounds (318 kilograms) of pungent flower was harvested last year as part of New York’s first crop of legally […]

1 day ago

FILE - Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions con...

Associated Press

Wisconsin Republicans look for rebound, Democrats stay on offensive as 2024 fights loom

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin once again be a battleground. Democrats, recognizing that four of the past six presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point, are trying not to become overconfident in the face of recent gains. They are gathering for their annual state convention starting June 10 […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

Michigan wildfire prompts evacuations, threatens multiple buildings

GRAYLING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A wildfire in Michigan burned more than 1,000 acres (1.5 square miles) and prompted emergency evacuations and road closures Saturday, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The wildfire located within Grayling Township, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Grayling, is moving west and southwest and threatens multiple […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

16 South American migrants who entered US through Texas flown to California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sixteen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the country through Texas were flown to California by chartered plane and dropped off outside a church in Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom and migrant rights advocates said Saturday. The young men and women were dropped off Friday outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento […]

1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

re:vitalize

Why drug-free weight loss still matters

Wanting to lose weight is a common goal for many people as they progress throughout life, but choosing between a holistic approach or to take medicine can be a tough decision.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

New Jersey acts to help problem gamblers, sets ad standards