Maryland Delegate asks for voluntary ban

The official asked the Legislature to consider a legislation to strengthen the state’s self casino ban program.

US.- Delegate Nick Mosby, D-Baltimore, announced that he would formally propose the Maryland State Legislature to create a stronger Maryland’s Voluntary Exclusion Program in order to improve its effectiveness.

As NBC Washington reported yesterday, a News4 I-Team investigation revealed that the program was weak and that it was multiple flaws that allowed problem gamblers to enter and leave the state’s six casinos whenever they wanted. The Delegate said that he will present measures to upgrade the system and protect the people in the state. “It’s ineffective at best. There’s limited follow-up (in the program). More importantly, there’s no way to know if they’re going back in the casino,” he added and confirmed that he will also ask casino owners to step up their security in order to detect problem gamblers in parking lots before they try to enter the facilities.

Multiple casino owners expressed their support to the program, like MGM, which said in a statement that they take every reasonable opportunity to ensure that people on the program list are not on their property engaging in gaming. Moreover, a Maryland Live! spokeswoman said that the casino supports the effort on multiple levels, including using technology and security measures to identify and remove such players from their facility.