Problem gamblers can bar themselves from New York’s casinos

A successful professional earning a six-figure salary was losing $2,000 a week on the slot machines. She borrowed money from friends, dipped into her retirement savings and lied to her family about where the money was going.

She went to local casinos three days a week, sometimes sitting in front of the machines for 10 hours straight without stopping to eat or drink.

Ellen F. said she decided to take two major steps to stop gambling in 2008. She joined the Western New York chapter of Anonymous playersHe also signed up for the state’s voluntary self-exclusion program. He took a photo and signed paperwork to ban himself from any state-sanctioned casino.

“Basically, I signed up to protect myself from myself,” the 70-something retiree from a Buffalo suburb told The Buffalo News. “I realized I needed all the help I could get to stay away from the casino. Between the help I got from GA and the exclusion program, I was able to do it. It wasn’t easy.”

He said he hasn’t played since.

Ellen F. is one of approximately 8,600 New York players who have enrolled in the voluntary self-exclusion program since 2017. The state Gaming Commission initiated the VSE program in 2014.

Participants agree not to set foot on casino premises. Their photographs and personal information are stored in a database maintained by the Gambling Commission and shared with casinos. If they enter a casino and win money, they cannot legally cash it out. They can also be arrested.

“Voluntary self-exclusion programs can be a wonderful tool for people who are trying to recover from gambling addiction,” said James J. Maney, executive director of the State Council on Problem Gambling. “For someone who is fighting that battle, restricting even their access to a casino really helps. But treatment, counseling and self-help groups are also needed.”

Those who join the state program will be banned from casinos and state-licensed racetracks, including Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs. They may be banned from betting on state lotteries and the nine online sports betting sites licensed to operate in New York.

There are nearly 16 million adults in New York State, and nearly a third of them (more than five million) have gambled at least once in the past year, according to the council.

The council estimates that approximately 4.5% of the state’s gamblers are problem gamblers or at-risk gamblers. According to those estimates, there are approximately 225,000 adult problem gamblers in the state.

Last year, a record 1,653 people enrolled in the VSE program, and this year’s enrollment is on track to exceed that number.

Maney said the state needs to do everything it can to publicize VSE and other supports available to gambling addicts.

“I would say most people don’t even know this program exists,” Maney told The News. “It’s a lot easier to find out where you can play than it is to find out about the program. We’re working on that.”

It takes courage and self-control to enroll in such a program, and many players are reluctant to take that step, said Ellen F.

Ellen F. and her friend, Carmen P., are members of the local chapter of Gamblers Anonymous. They spoke about their addictions on the condition that their real names not be published. Ellen F. and Carmen P. are pseudonyms.

Both women told The News that joining the VSE program has helped them maintain what they call their sobriety from gambling.

“I got to the point where I was losing $600 to $700 a week on the slot machines,” said Carmen P., a retired medical professional in her 70s. “I kept it a secret from my family and patients. My husband knew I was gambling, but he had no idea how serious it was.

“It’s an insidious addiction that takes over your life. Going to the casino started out as a date with my husband, but it took over my life. I was gambling for five years, almost every day, before I realized I needed help.”

The woman, who lives in rural Erie County, said she tried to quit gambling three times and failed before Gamblers Anonymous and VSE helped her quit, hopefully for good, eight years ago.

“I went to the security office at the Batavia casino and felt like a criminal,” she said. “They took my photo and a lot of personal information, but the program has been great for me.”

Carmen P. is still tempted to gamble, but her fears about what might happen keep her from going to a casino.

State applications for the VSE program warn that people who break the rules when entering casinos can be arrested for trespassing, a violation of state law.

“I can’t stand the thought of being arrested, all the shame and pain it would cause me and my family,” he said. “I can barely stand looking at a casino anymore. I have to put my hand in front of my face.”

Ellen F. said she has known “several” people who committed suicide due to their gambling addiction.

“I realized I needed help when I lost the trust of my family,” he said. “You can’t be a compulsive gambler without being a compulsive liar… you lie to people all day long,” he said.

In recent months, people who have signed up for VSE have included residents of Buffalo, Blasdell, Orchard Park, Clarence, West Seneca, Batavia, Alden, Cheektowaga, Lockport, East Aurora and the town of Tonawanda, state officials said.

People can join the program for one year, three years, five years, or for the rest of their lives.

The Seneca Nation and other Native American nations that operate casinos in New York do not participate in state VSE programs, but do have their own VSE programs.

Ellen F. said she knows a person who was on VSE and was arrested for entering a casino and gambling in violation of VSE rules.

Another person she knows “went into a casino and won a jackpot,” Ellen F. said. “They wouldn’t let her cash out, but they didn’t arrest her. Security took her out of the casino.”

A spokesman said the state Gaming Commission does not keep any statistics on how many people are arrested for trespassing after violating provisions of the VSE program. He declined to say how often people try to violate the program.

The state and casinos should do more to publicize the availability of VSE, said Ellen F.

“The program is available and useful, but many people don’t even know it exists,” he said. “Casinos certainly don’t advertise it as much as they advertise ads that encourage people to gamble.”

She said anyone in the Buffalo area can get help. join the Opt-Out Program by calling Gamblers Anonymous at (716) 708-1197.

“We will tell you everything about the program and help you enroll,” said Ellen F.

Similar support is available statewide through the State Council on Problem Gambling at (518) 867-4084 and the HOPEline run by the State Office of Addiction Services and Support at (877) 846-7369.

The State Gaming Commission can be contacted at [email protected].