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Missouri
Riverboat Gaming Association Supports Responsible Gaming
Initiatives
The Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association (MRGA) funds 1-888-BETSOFF, a statewide telephone crisis line and referral service for problem gambling. Since 1995, MRGA has voluntarily donated funds to Life Crisis Services, Inc. for the help-line. The phone line provides immediate crisis response and referral to the statewide network of outpatient gambling clinics and certified compulsive gambling counselors. The phone line is managed by Life Crisis Services and operates twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. Life Crisis Services is a provider of quality intervention services, primarily by telephone, with emphasis on caring support for callers and treatment referrals.
The Missouri Department of
Mental Health provides free problem gambling treatment for any
Missouri resident and their immediate family members.
This free treatment is financed through the Compulsive
Gamblers Fund, which receives one cent of each admission fee paid
by the casino operators to the State.
The actual treatment service is provided through a network
of private mental health counselors with specialized training and
certified by the Department of Mental Health.
MRGA strongly lobbied the Missouri General Assembly to
enact Senate Bill 902 in 2001 to establish a dedicated source of
treatment funds.
MRGA
is a charter member of the Missouri
Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling (Missouri
Alliance). The
mission of the Missouri Alliance is to heighten public awareness
of the dangers of problem gambling; develop prevention and
education programs for gamblers of all ages; and direct problem
gamblers and their families to the 1-888-BETSOFF helpline
and free treatment. In
addition to MRGA, the governing members of the Alliance include:
the Missouri Department of Mental Health; the Missouri Gaming
Commission, the Missouri Lottery; Kansas City Port Authority; and
the Missouri Council on Problem Gambling Concerns, Inc. a
non-profit advocacy group for problem gamblers.
Casino-Based Responsible Gaming Programs
MRGA’s casino members have specific programs designed to address responsible gaming issues at their facilities. Missouri casinos recognize that dealing with disordered and underage gambling is not only the right thing to do, it is also good business. All Missouri riverboat casino companies have an employee designated as director of responsible gaming programs.
MRGA’s Responsible Gaming Program is comprised of three components:
· Project 21, which addresses underage gambling;
· Operation Bet Smart, which focuses on compulsive gambling; and
· Alcohol awareness programs to promote responsible consumption of alcohol.
Underage
Gambling
MRGA
members are diligent in checking for underage persons who may
attempt to enter casinos. It
is illegal for persons under the age of 21 to gamble in a Missouri
casino. Missouri
casinos have a no tolerance policy for minors and have an
established protocol for identifying minors.
MRGA members worked with other members of the Missouri
Alliance to pass a law (Senate Bill 902) in 2001 making it a
misdemeanor (Class B for first offense; Class A for the second
offense) for the following: making
or attempting to make a wager when such person is under the age of
21; presenting false identification in an attempt to enter a
casino; permitting a person under the age of 21 to make a wager;
and aiding a person under the age of 21 in entering a casino or
making a wager. If a
minor is found within a casino, the minor is arrested by the
Missouri State Highway Patrol and turned over to local police
authorities.
Missouri’s
casinos also support positive intervention programs targeted to
youth, such as the Project
21 Scholarship Contest. The goal of Project 21 is
to stop casino gambling by people under the age of 21. One of the best tools available to help achieve this
objective is education. The
Project 21 Scholarship Contest is designed to let young people
educate their peers that it is not permissible in Missouri for
persons under the age of 21 to gamble.
Operation
Bet Smart and Alcohol Awareness Programs
The
goals of these components are to create awareness inside the
casinos, get employees involved in addressing the issues, create
awareness outside the casinos and in the communities, and provide
resources for those who need help.
There
are a variety of tools used by MRGA member firms to create
awareness of responsible gaming issues.
MRGA casinos display 1-888-BETSOFF on posters and pamphlets
produced by the Missouri Lottery in strategic locations throughout
the property. All
Missouri casinos display posters communicating key messages in
high- traffic customer areas and employee back-of-house areas.
These areas include casino entrances, ticket counters,
cashier cages, cash access machines, and employee break rooms and
time clocks. Additionally,
depending on appropriateness, responsible gaming messages are
communicated on boarding passes, electronic advertising, newspaper
advertising, phone hold messages, hotel television (in-house
channel), video wall messaging and promotional offers.
All
Missouri casinos participate in innovative self-exclusion
programs. A state
mandated program provides a disordered gambler the opportunity to
ban themselves from all Missouri casinos (see MGC below).
Some casinos allow a patron to ban themselves from a
specific casino property. All
casinos offer patrons the opportunity to self-exclude from check
cashing privileges and to ban use of credit cards at the free
standing kiosks that are generally recognized by gaming patrons as
“cash advance” machines.
These programs allow guests to exclude themselves from
obtaining a cash advance through the company’s cash devices.
Missouri casinos have also developed programs that allow
patrons the option to prohibit the gaming company from using
identifying information for marketing purposes.
Employee Training
All casinos provide employees with informational training on responsible gaming subjects. Missouri casino companies have a mission statement illustrating the purpose in deterring problem and underage gambling. Recognizing the importance of getting employees involved early, responsible gaming is part of orientation for all new hires. The training programs teach a wide range of responsible gaming issues, including how to identify the signs and symptoms of problem gambling, tips on spotting underage customers and ways to prevent intoxication in the serving of alcohol.Alcohol Consumption and Gambling Policies
All casinos participate in initiatives to intervene with intoxicated guests. Each property participates in a designated driver program or arranges cab rides as needed. Several companies have extended their server-training programs to valet parking employees. As a last step for patrons who refuse intervention, local police authorities are notified. Unlike many other gaming jurisdictions, Missouri casinos do not serve free alcoholic drinks on the casino floor. Furthermore, all alcoholic beverages must be purchased with cash, which results in a transaction that assists the server in assessing the sobriety of the guest.
MISSOURI
GAMING COMMISSION AUGMENTS PROBLEM GAMBLING SERVICES
The Missouri Gaming
Commission (Commission) is the regulatory agency that licenses and
oversees the operation of Missouri’s eleven casinos.
As discussed above, the Commission administers a voluntary
exclusion program for problem gamblers.
This program, created in 1996, provides problem gamblers
with a method to acknowledge that they have a gambling problem and
take personal responsibility for it by agreeing to stop visiting
riverboat casinos. The
exclusion is for life.
In
order to assist the problem gambler with their self-imposed ban,
the Commission requires casino operators to cease all
direct-marketing efforts to people in the voluntary exclusion
program. Casinos are
required to block all direct mailings and other promotional
enticements to people in the program.
This policy ensures that people in the program do not
receive invitations for free nights in the casino’s hotel, free
dinners, match play coupons, or other inducements to visit the
casino. In addition,
the Commission requires that casinos refuse to allow people in the
program to cash checks or participate in player’s club programs.
If
a problem gambler who has requested to be excluded chooses to
violate his/her agreement and visits a Missouri casino, s/he is
arrested for trespassing upon discovery.
As a method of enforcing these policies, the Commission
requires casinos to refer to the list of people in the program
before issuing new player’s club cards, cashing checks or paying
out large jackpots.
The
Commission uses the trespassing arrest as a way to call attention
to the problem gambler’s destructive behavior in the hope that
it will encourage them to enter a treatment program.
After receiving notice of the arrest of a voluntarily
excluded individual, the Commission sends a letter reminding them
of their commitment to refrain from visiting Missouri casinos as
well as the availability of free treatment.
The Commission also provides them with both a listing of
certified compulsive gambling counselors in their community and a
Gamblers Anonymous meetings schedule in their community, as well
as other resources available in Missouri, and/or their area.
Other Responsible Gaming Education and Research Efforts
A variety of other methods are utilized to communicate responsible gaming issues to employees including employee newsletters, fliers and employee contests. The American Gaming Association (AGA), a national trade association of the gaming industry, publishes the Responsible Gaming Resource Guide and PROGRESS (Promoting Responsible Gaming Resources and Education Standards) kit, which encourages the development of industry-wide programs and policies. In response, MRGA has adopted the AGA’s voluntary advertising guidelines. Materials such as the Responsible Gaming Resource Guide and the PROGRESS kit are incorporated into the training provided to all casino employees.
AGA promotes research in
disordered gambling and underage gambling through the National
Center for Responsible Gambling.
Several Missouri casinos provide ongoing financial support
for the research by the National Center.
In
2002, the Missouri Alliance hosted the first installment in a
national lecture series that was sponsored through the AGA’s
Responsible Gaming Lecture Series.
Problem gamblers often believe that their gambling fate is
based on luck and talent and deny that it is generally based on
pure chance, according to Robert Ladouceur, a nationally known
author and researcher. Ladouceur,
a professor of psychology at Université Laval in Quebec, was
a guest speaker at a June 2002 event hosted by the Missouri
Alliance. More than
100 people attended the event, which was held at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City campus.
Through collateral materials at all casinos, MRGA encourages patrons to establish their own limits by developing a set of personal guidelines to determine whether, when and how much to gamble. Personal guidelines to low-risk gambling should be developed with the following precepts in mind:
- The Decision to Gamble is a Personal Choice
- Gambling is Not Essential for Having a Good Time
- What Constitutes an Acceptable Loss Needs to Be Established Before Starting to Gamble
- There are Times When People Should Not Gamble
- There
are Certain High-Risk Situations During Which Gambling Should
Be Avoided.
During Responsible Gaming Education Week 2002, casino industry employees were trained on responsible gaming, illegal youth gambling and issues surrounding unattended minors. The training materials were created by the North American Training Institute to help address awareness among casino patrons, employees and casino management.
Awareness materials and displays were featured at riverboat casinos, lottery offices, the Missouri Department of Mental Health headquarters and Missouri Gaming Commission offices.
Some of the activities at Missouri’s riverboat casinos during Responsible Gaming Education Week included:
· Employee meetings and training sessions on disordered gambling and underage gambling;
· Employee poster or question-and-answer contests;
· Display of brochures at all ATMs and cashier cages;
· Placement of Responsible Gaming Education Week banners outside casinos and public areas within casinos;
· Display of responsible gaming banners and flyers targeted to employees in back-of-house areas;
· Packets of responsible gaming information distributed to employees with paychecks;
· Responsible gaming messages on in-house television and on-hold messages for customers;
· Wearing of Responsible Gaming Education Week button or ribbons by casino employees;
· Display of proclamations commemorating Responsible Gaming Education Week from the Governor, as well as the cities and counties that host casinos.
|
Missouri
Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling |
|
Gamblers
Anonymous |
|
Missouri
Lottery |
|
Missouri
Department of Mental Health |
|
National
Council on Problem Gambling |
|
National
Institute of Mental Health |