Internet Gaming In New Jersey Draws Concerns About Compulsive Gamblers
By David Madden
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- A half dozen Atlantic City casinos are now offering internet gaming to players within the state of New Jersey. It's the largest venue to offer online wagering in America, and it has some people worried for those who don't know when to stop.
Anyone with a computer or smartphone and a revenue stream of some kind can access slots and table games from the comfort of wherever they are in the state.
Sounds easy.
Maybe too easy.
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey helped to draw up some of the protections that casinos are supposed to enforce, under the watchful eyes of state regulators. And Assistant Director Jeffrey Beck suggests the new gaming mode could actually help them over time.
"We have a written documentation," Beck says, "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.'"
But Beck still sees a problem in keeping those under 21 out.
"It's very easy for someone to access a father's credit card," Beck says, "and have all the account information available and play in his father's name."
Casinos have developed plans to combat that, and the state is monitoring to see that they do.
Beck is also concerned that someone gambling home alone might act differently than someone in a casino setting, and not necessarily for their own good.
