The American Gaming Association has requested the responsible officials in the casino industry to use better practices to encourage responsible gambling. The American Gaming Association (AGA) is the leading casino lobbying group in the United States. It was founded in 1994 to lobby the best interests of the gaming sector.
AGA has submitted several recommendations that it believes will protect players better.
These new recommendations were created to better provide the help that players could be looking for. One of the changes is having one national helpline accessible to all players looking to curb their gambling problems.
The group noted that all gambling advertisements regarding responsible gambling are printed in small fonts.
Also, the information is usually allocated in a small section and clumsy with resources and state regulations. As a result, AGA claims it is hard to read the responsible gambling information provided in advertisements.
AGA suggests that the information provided regarding responsible gambling should be without unnecessary information such as resources. The group is also against having several helpline numbers, each dedicated to an individual state.
Jessica Feil lectured that helplines are a crucial resource, especially for a person urgently needing them. She noted that a lengthy list of state-specific numbers on national adverts did not help those seeking help. Feil said that it would be best to make critical resources conveniently accessible.
Feil is the Vice President of Government Relations and Gaming Policy Counsel. She suggested that a national helpline should be used during national advertising as it was more effective compared to proving multiple state-specific helplines.
It is Time To Embrace Technological Resources
The AGA has also argued that there are multiple ways to provide help to problem gamblers. One of the group members suggested that organizations providing help can use technological resources.
The AGA argues that the use of the toll-free number is no longer effective and outdated. The group suggests that organizations using call-in helplines are overlooking modern services such as online chats and sending text messages.
Studies suggest that only one in three US gamblers can be classified as having a mild gambling problem. But, the responsible gambling industry still uses millions to support treatment initiatives yearly. The funds are also used to fund research, treatment, design and use responsible gaming policies, control self-exclusion plans, and train employees.
When You Search for Gambling Help
Today, there is no standard helpline for all seeking help in the US gaming sector. But, when you search for a helpline online, several numbers come up.
The first number you will cross is 1-800-GAMBLER, which is the closest to a national helpline. But, this number is applicable to gamblers in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Illinois.
Other numbers that might come up include 1-800-270-7117 for Michigan, 1-800-BETSOFF for Iowa, 1-800-889-9789 for Tennessee, 1-800-522-4700 for Nevada and Colorado, and 1-800-9-WITH-IT for Indiana residents. 1-800-522-4700 can be used nationally, but it is not recognized as the standard helpline number.
Currently, sportsbooks and casino entities have to add specific resources and contact information on ads. But, the AGA believes having multiple numbers on an ad is confusing because gamblers may not know the precise number to use. The group gave an example, saying that a gambler may wonder whether the given number is applicable depending on where they reside or where they perform their gambling activities.
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