Individuals on voluntary list must forfeit winnings
Maryland has become the third state to offer a voluntary system to restrict the ability to play the lottery, officials announced Tuesday.
The program is an expansion of the casino exclusion program launched in 2011, several months after Maryland's first casino opened. People on that list agree to be cited for trespassing if found in one of the state's casinos.
Once signed up for the lottery exclusion list, a person is required to forfeit any lottery prize winnings — including from scratch-off tickets — to the Maryland Problem Gambling Fund. Individuals can apply for the program at the state's casinos or at the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency's Baltimore headquarters.
"The expanded program reflects our continued commitment to promote responsible gaming," said Stephen Martino, the lottery's director.
As with the casino exclusion program, applicants to the lottery exclusion program can sign up for either a two-year or a lifetime ban. Those who elect the two-year option must undergo a problem gambling assessment before being removed from the list.
Joanna Franklin, program director for the Center on Problem Gambling at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, doubts the usefulness of the expanded exclusion list.
"It's not going to help very many people," Franklin said, because the program "does not stop them from buying tickets."
The list, she said, isn't even likely to stop people from cashing in their winnings. "Don't you think someone is going to be able to find someone else to cash it in?" Franklin said.
She said she would rather the state fund advertising for the problem gambling help line, a service proven to assist addicts. There isn't the same kind of data to support the use of lottery exclusion lists, she said.
Iowa and Illinois are the only other jurisdictions that provide a way for problem gamblers to restrict their access to lottery winnings, according to the Maryland Lottery. Maryland's program launched Monday.
People who have already signed up for the casino exclusion program — about 220 people are on that list — will receive notice of the lottery exclusion program by mail, the Maryland Lottery said. The agency also placed brochures explaining the voluntary exclusion program in the state's casinos and the roughly 4,440 retailers that sell lottery tickets.
In other lottery news, officials say they have mostly fixed a computer glitch that prevented players from cashing their winning tickets over the weekend, including thousands who won minor prizes in Saturday's Powerball drawing.
"There was a little issue with the software in the system," said Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Carole Everett. "People could purchase tickets. The only issue — and I can understand this was a little irritation with players — was they couldn't cash on the spot."
The problem affected all of the computerized lottery games, not just Powerball.
As of Tuesday morning, almost all of the terminals at the state's lottery retailers had been fixed, Everett said.
Lottery players can cash winning tickets up to $600 at any lottery retailer and tickets up to $5,000 at certain locations. Winners of larger prizes must claim them at Maryland Lottery offices in Baltimore or Lanham.
In Saturday's multistate Powerball drawing, one winning jackpot ticket worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida.
There were more than 181,000 Powerball winners in Maryland. Eleven people won $10,000 and nearly 800 people won $100, Everett said. Most local winners won $7 or $4.
Supposing you sign that thing and then come the holidays and your cheap cousin decides to give you a $5 scratch ticket that turns out to be a $10,000 winner. NOT GOOD!
If you have a problem, just stop playing. Use will power not some list
If you have a problem many can't "just stop playing". That's what an addiction is. Some people have strong will powers but many don't.
Signing up for this exclusion program is totally nuts. While at it, why not sign up for no food, no drinks and no sex. What if the $600 million[approx] jackpot winner is on that exclusion program, then what?.
Sounds like the state would be the winner in that case.
The addict can buy all the tickets he wants, he just can't collect his winnings so the state is always going to win.
With the up coming changes in MM the same thing will happen to all lottery players, they can buy all the tickets they want but the odds of ever winning a jackpot are going to be harder.
Seems I heard of an incident where someone was on a list, went and gambled anyway and won, then somehow it turned into a lawsuit. hmmmm
If you are married you can have your spouse collect the winnings for you.If you aren't married you can have some other family member collect the winnings.If its a major jackpot,see a lawyer.
"People on that list agree to be cited for trespassing if found in one of the state's casinos."
That's exactly what every state needs, a list people with any addiction can sign and self incriminate themselves. A problem drinker could be arrested for going into any place that serves or sells alcoholic beverages or opening a fridge with beer in it. The jails will be full of people addicted to watching football.
How do they come up with these weird ideas and then make them a law?
Something like that could work for addicted drunk drivers. It could save time since the person if seen coming out of a bar and headed toward his car could be arrested and assumed to be up to no good. That's something drunks could support.
What a joke!!!! This does nothing to actually help the problem gambler. I myself am one, I have to admit it.... I'm addicted to scratch offs. I have been for 15 years!!!! It's very difficult to "just stop" playing....and this law does nothing to actually help the gambling addict. There's nothing that stops people from buying the tickets, they just can't collect any winnings!!! What a joke!!!! Here, spend your money, but if you win we won't give you the winnings. I wish I could stop playing, because it is obvious--all around the country-- that the lottery is giving less and less prize money, making the odds worse and worse--- and simply taking our money. Ha! And THAT'S what proves this is an addiction! WE KNOW BETTER but we keep giving them our money!!!
Doesn't knowing you can't cash it in make you think twice before buying a ticket?
As a food addict, I know if someone said I could buy that bag of chips but there's some mechanism in place so that I can't eat them, I just wouldn't buy the chips. I wouldn't go ahead and drop the money for them.
Signing up for the gambling lists is voluntary. I would guess only people who want to change their habits are gonna sign up. Having that little voice in your head telling you that you can't win is probably what some people need to quit the compulsive buying of tickets.
This is stupid, and we have jackass senator in Jersey that wants to raise the age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21,
no wonder this country is in trouble, these morons can't deal w/real problems,
so they play w/silly things just to act like they're doing something.
Well said. You hit the nail right on the head.
@ Mypiemaster
Thanks,
also your comment rhymes.
I agree. They should just ban cigarettes completely and get it over with.
Yeah,let's just have a nanny state and ban everything that someone percieves as bad for you.Don't eat chocalate because it'll give you pimples and make you fat.Don't drink beer because it will lead to you drinking whiskey.You can't have a gun because guns kill people.Better register that steak knife because it's a dangerous weapon.Where does it end?
I agree with you it doesn't end. These people are under the impression that they have the power to do what's best for the common good and the hell with the individual. The fact is that life is responsibilty and everyone is responsible for their own life.
If people would just mind their own business instead of trying to tell other people how to live their lives this would be a much better world for all of us.
I agree! How silly is it to have to sign a list to stop ... Duh!!!
Typical Md. All the neighboring states open up casinos. Maryland won't do it. So residents spend their money out of state.
They put it on a voter referendum. It gets voted in, they still won't do it. Meanwhile, they advertise all the new lottery game
promotions, and the local horse racing industry (think preakness) but won't open casinos.
Years later they finally,
(recently) start opening the casinos and now they come up with this. They promote gambling, but don't want you to do it
unless the state can collect a fee or tax from it. This by the state with the country's oldest pick3 game.
Next to the Quickie scratch off tickets, this is the dumbest thing I have ever read lottery wise. There is absolutely zero benefit to the individual in doing this.
I can't believe anybody would be so stupid as to sign a contract to give some government bureaucrat/schmucks even MORE control over their private life.
Unbelievable.
Welcome to the Machine.
I might sign up for this myself..lol Maybe these volunteers will be the faces under secret contract to win the MONSTER jackpots from Mega Million and Powerball. MM and PB will select one of these volunteers and pay them off with a few million for a good story, publicity, and to keep their mouth shut.... the rest PB/MM will keep for themselves.
This story just seems odd..lol I can't imagine anyone volunteering to fork over winnings. If the lotto wanted to help people kick habits then maybe they should make us register with SS numbers or ID # and if you decide to volunteer and be on this list then it will blacklist you everytime you try to gamble in casino/or lotto. Makes more sense to me to do it this way then let a gambler waste money they can't collect should they win.
From the OP:
Joanna Franklin, program director for the Center on Problem Gambling at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, doubts the usefulness of the expanded exclusion list.
"It's not going to help very many people," Franklin said, because the program "does not stop them from buying tickets."
The list, she said, isn't even likely to stop people from cashing in their winnings. "Don't you think someone is going to be able to find someone else to cash it in?" Franklin said.
BINGO! (No pun intended)
"......does not stop them from buying tickets"
Oh sure, you can buy all the tickets you want but you just can cash in any winners.
Just like similar casino programs, this is nothing but a CYA attempt on the part of the lottery to make it appear as if they're doing something to address degenerate gamblers.
Exactly!
It doesn't require a PHD to see the Bull s#!t in this story.
The lottery wants you to still spend your money, but wants you to give up rights so they don't have to pay ya!
Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense! lol
These States offer help but they make impossible for people to stop. There's lotto everywhere and you can buy almost any time. We have a Auto Body shop that's selling lotto,wtf.
I didn't even bother finishing reading that article. lol
A big WTF are these people high? lol (Who is going to sign them self's up for that list on there own?)
This is absurd. It's hard to understand why will they sign up for an exclusion program then they will go to casino or play lottery when they know the restrictions of this program. I hope they can come up with a better program to treat people who are addicted to gambling.