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Compulsive Gambling Experts Wary of New Jersey's New Online Gaming

By David Madden

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- With a half-dozen Atlantic City casinos now offering Internet gambling to players within New Jersey (see related story), some people worried for those who don't know when to stop.

The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey helped to draw up some of the protections that casinos are now required to enforce, under the watchful eye of state regulators. And assistant director Jeffrey Beck suggests the new gambling mode could eventually help chronic gamblers via automated monitoring.

beck_jeff CCGNJ _prov
(Jeffrey Beck. Photo provided by CCGNJ)

"We have a written documentation, and the casinos can develop an algorithm to kind of say, 'This person looks like they could be having a problem -- maybe it's time to intervene,'  early on," Beck (right) tells KYW Newsradio.

But Beck remains concerned that someone gambling home alone might act differently than someone in a casino setting -- and not necessarily for their own good.

He also sees a problem with how the over-21 rule will be enforced.

New Jersey is now the largest venue in America to offer online wagering.

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