October 16, 2007

By Christopher Wills

SPRINGFIELD – Compulsive gamblers are getting a new tool meant to help them avoid the temptation of buying Illinois lottery tickets.

Lottery officials today launched a “self-exclusion” program that lets problem gamblers place themselves on a list of people who aren’t allowed to collect major prizes. They can still buy tickets and collect prizes of up to $600, but the huge jackpots will be off limits.

“We’re trying to limit the incentives,” lottery spokeswoman Katie Ridgway said.

Illinois’ program is based on one in Iowa, Ridgway said. Only seven people have signed up for the Iowa exclusion list in nearly two years.

The new policy a good first step but the lottery should also limit its marketing, particularly to minorities and the poor, said Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems.

“It’s in every community. It’s so accessible and so available,” Bedell said. “The goal of the lottery is to make money. The only way they can make money is on the losses of people.”

Illinois casinos have had a similar program for years. About 5,000 people have voluntarily barred themselves from the casinos.

Ridgway said there’s no way to estimate how many people might sign up for the lottery exclusion list, but 600 callers to a gambling hot line listed the lottery as their favorite or second-favorite way to gamble last year.

Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery, said officials there are satisfied with the relatively small number of people on the exclusion list. Only 3 percent to 5 percent of compulsive gamblers seeking treatment from the state list the lottery as their main form of wagering, she said.

“If we even help one person, it’s been worth it,” Neubauer said.

To sign up in Illinois, a compulsive gambler must send in a notarized form. The lottery would also take the person off any marketing lists it uses.

The Illinois lottery had sales of nearly $2 billion in fiscal 2006, generating $671 million in profits for schools.

The Associated Press

Do you think the lotteries in all of the States should have the opt out policy as an option?

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