Illinois Gaming Board Considers Proposal to Card Casino Patrons

The Illinois Gaming Board is currently considering a proposition under which every person who walks into any of Illinois’ nine casinos would have to show an identification card.

The purpose of the proposition is to prevent gamblers who have voluntarily barred themselves from Illinois’ casinos from entering.

In order to “self-exclude” from gambling, an individual must travel to a designated Illinois Gaming Board or other enrollment to fill out the appropriate forms. The entire process takes only 30-40 minutes, and is completely free for users. One an individual places his or her name on the self-exclusion list, the exclusion is valid for five years. At the five-year mark, the compulsive gambling addict must submit a written request for removal from the list to the Gaming Board, accompanied by a letter of approval from a mental health professional.

The Gambling Board has been operating a pilot “self- exclusion” program. The program has been in effect since July of 2002, since which 3,046 compulsive gambling addicts have volunteered, asking to be prohibited from entering casinos. Of the 3,046 who signed up, 440 compulsive gamblers have since been caught in the casinos. They have been, as mandated by the plan, charged with trespassing and forced to cede their winnings. So far, the state government of Illinois has collected $244,000 from 173 self-excluded gamblers who won money in casinos. According to the rules of self-exclusion, a gambling addict may designate the name of any charitable or government gambling addiction treatment center that will receive his or her gambling winnings.

Gambling operators are somewhat weary of the plan. Tom Swoik, the executive director of the Illinois Casino and Gaming Association, said that gambling operators would consider the plan. He argued, however, that checking identification of the millions of people who enter Illinois casinos each year could cause problems for customers such as delays.

No other state in the U.S., gambling industry professionals pointed out, requires that casinos check the identification of every patron.

Chairman of the Gaming Board Aaron Jaffe, while acknowledging that the plan has some kinks, expressed his approval. "No system is perfect," Jaffe said. "But I think that's as good a one that you'll get at this particular time, and I think we ought to do something like that. There's responsibility the casinos have to take. There's responsibility for everyone."

There are three casinos in Illinois that already require identification for some patrons. The Queen Casino in East St. Louis, the Hollywood Casino in Aurora, and the Par-A-Dice in East Peoria all request identification from gamblers who appear to be under 30 years old, in order to prevent those who are under the age of 21 from entering.

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