Maryland lets problem gamblers exclude themselves from lottery

May 22, 2013, 7:17 am (29 comments)

Maryland Lottery

Individuals on voluntary list must forfeit winnings

Maryland has become the third state to offer a voluntary system to restrict the ability to play the lottery, officials announced Tuesday.

The program is an expansion of the casino exclusion program launched in 2011, several months after Maryland's first casino opened. People on that list agree to be cited for trespassing if found in one of the state's casinos.

Once signed up for the lottery exclusion list, a person is required to forfeit any lottery prize winnings — including from scratch-off tickets — to the Maryland Problem Gambling Fund. Individuals can apply for the program at the state's casinos or at the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency's Baltimore headquarters.

"The expanded program reflects our continued commitment to promote responsible gaming," said Stephen Martino, the lottery's director.

As with the casino exclusion program, applicants to the lottery exclusion program can sign up for either a two-year or a lifetime ban. Those who elect the two-year option must undergo a problem gambling assessment before being removed from the list.

Joanna Franklin, program director for the Center on Problem Gambling at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, doubts the usefulness of the expanded exclusion list.

"It's not going to help very many people," Franklin said, because the program "does not stop them from buying tickets."

The list, she said, isn't even likely to stop people from cashing in their winnings. "Don't you think someone is going to be able to find someone else to cash it in?" Franklin said.

She said she would rather the state fund advertising for the problem gambling help line, a service proven to assist addicts. There isn't the same kind of data to support the use of lottery exclusion lists, she said.

Iowa and Illinois are the only other jurisdictions that provide a way for problem gamblers to restrict their access to lottery winnings, according to the Maryland Lottery. Maryland's program launched Monday.

People who have already signed up for the casino exclusion program — about 220 people are on that list — will receive notice of the lottery exclusion program by mail, the Maryland Lottery said. The agency also placed brochures explaining the voluntary exclusion program in the state's casinos and the roughly 4,440 retailers that sell lottery tickets.

In other lottery news, officials say they have mostly fixed a computer glitch that prevented players from cashing their winning tickets over the weekend, including thousands who won minor prizes in Saturday's Powerball drawing.

"There was a little issue with the software in the system," said Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett. "People could purchase tickets. The only issue — and I can understand this was a little irritation with players — was they couldn't cash on the spot."

The problem affected all of the computerized lottery games, not just Powerball.

As of Tuesday morning, almost all of the terminals at the state's lottery retailers had been fixed, Everett said.

Lottery players can cash winning tickets up to $600 at any lottery retailer and tickets up to $5,000 at certain locations. Winners of larger prizes must claim them at Maryland Lottery offices in Baltimore or Lanham.

In Saturday's multistate Powerball drawing, one winning jackpot ticket worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida.

There were more than 181,000 Powerball winners in Maryland. Eleven people won $10,000 and nearly 800 people won $100, Everett said. Most local winners won $7 or $4.

Baltimore Sun

Comments

maringoman's avatarmaringoman

Supposing you sign that thing and then come the holidays and your cheap cousin decides to give you a $5 scratch ticket that turns out to be a $10,000 winner. NOT GOOD!

th19940305

If you have a problem, just stop playing. Use will power not some list

jackpotismine's avatarjackpotismine

Quote: Originally posted by th19940305 on May 22, 2013

If you have a problem, just stop playing. Use will power not some list

If you have a problem many can't "just stop playing". That's what an addiction is. Some people have strong will powers but many don't.

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

Signing up for this exclusion program is totally nuts. While at it, why not sign up for no food, no drinks and no sex. What if the $600 million[approx] jackpot winner is on that exclusion program, then what?.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by mypiemaster on May 22, 2013

Signing up for this exclusion program is totally nuts. While at it, why not sign up for no food, no drinks and no sex. What if the $600 million[approx] jackpot winner is on that exclusion program, then what?.

Sounds like the state would be the winner in that case.

The addict can buy all the tickets he wants, he just can't collect his winnings so the state is always going to win. 

With the up coming changes in MM the same thing will happen to all lottery players, they can buy all the tickets they want but the odds of ever winning a jackpot are going to be harder.

sully16's avatarsully16

Seems I heard of an incident where someone was on a list, went and gambled anyway and won, then somehow it turned into a lawsuit. hmmmm

CLETU$

If you are married you can have your spouse collect the winnings for you.If you aren't married you can have some other family member collect the winnings.If its a major jackpot,see a lawyer.

Jill34786's avatarJill34786

Quote: Originally posted by maringoman on May 22, 2013

Supposing you sign that thing and then come the holidays and your cheap cousin decides to give you a $5 scratch ticket that turns out to be a $10,000 winner. NOT GOOD!

I Agree! Just another way for the state to benefit at the expense of someone in dire need of help.

Stack47

"People on that list agree to be cited for trespassing if found in one of the state's casinos."

That's exactly what every state needs, a list people with any addiction can sign and self incriminate themselves. A problem drinker could be arrested for going into any place that serves or sells alcoholic beverages or opening a fridge with beer in it. The jails will be full of people addicted to watching football.

How do they come up with these weird ideas and then make them a law?

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Quote: Originally posted by Stack47 on May 22, 2013

"People on that list agree to be cited for trespassing if found in one of the state's casinos."

That's exactly what every state needs, a list people with any addiction can sign and self incriminate themselves. A problem drinker could be arrested for going into any place that serves or sells alcoholic beverages or opening a fridge with beer in it. The jails will be full of people addicted to watching football.

How do they come up with these weird ideas and then make them a law?

Something like that could work for addicted drunk drivers.  It could save time since the person if seen coming out of a bar and headed toward his car could be arrested and assumed to be up to no good.  That's something drunks could support.

OldSchoolHits

What a joke!!!!  This does nothing to actually help the problem gambler. I myself am one, I have to admit it.... I'm addicted to scratch offs. I have been for 15 years!!!! It's very difficult to "just stop" playing....and this law does nothing to actually help the gambling addict. There's nothing that stops people from buying the tickets, they just can't collect any winnings!!! What a joke!!!!  Here, spend your money, but if you win we won't give you the winnings. I wish I could stop playing, because it is obvious--all around the country-- that the lottery is giving less and less prize money, making the odds worse and worse--- and simply taking our money. Ha! And THAT'S what proves this is an addiction! WE KNOW BETTER but we keep giving them our money!!!

HoLeeKau's avatarHoLeeKau

Quote: Originally posted by OldSchoolHits on May 22, 2013

What a joke!!!!  This does nothing to actually help the problem gambler. I myself am one, I have to admit it.... I'm addicted to scratch offs. I have been for 15 years!!!! It's very difficult to "just stop" playing....and this law does nothing to actually help the gambling addict. There's nothing that stops people from buying the tickets, they just can't collect any winnings!!! What a joke!!!!  Here, spend your money, but if you win we won't give you the winnings. I wish I could stop playing, because it is obvious--all around the country-- that the lottery is giving less and less prize money, making the odds worse and worse--- and simply taking our money. Ha! And THAT'S what proves this is an addiction! WE KNOW BETTER but we keep giving them our money!!!

Doesn't knowing you can't cash it in make you think twice before buying a ticket? 

As a food addict, I know if someone said I could buy that bag of chips but there's some mechanism in place so that I can't eat them, I just wouldn't buy the chips.  I wouldn't go ahead and drop the money for them.

Signing up for the gambling lists is voluntary.  I would guess only people who want to change their habits are gonna sign up.  Having that little voice in your head telling you that you can't win is probably what some people need to quit the compulsive buying of tickets.

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

This is stupid,  and we have jackass senator in Jersey that wants to raise the age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21,

no wonder this country is in trouble, these morons can't deal w/real problems,

so they play w/silly things just to act like they're doing something.

mypiemaster's avatarmypiemaster

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on May 22, 2013

This is stupid,  and we have jackass senator in Jersey that wants to raise the age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21,

no wonder this country is in trouble, these morons can't deal w/real problems,

so they play w/silly things just to act like they're doing something.

Well said. You hit the nail right on the head.

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