Pennsylvania highlights the issue of gambling proliferation and the need for consumer protection

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are growing increasingly wary of the need to better address the mass proliferation of gambling products in the Keystone State. The key focus is to now address people who are struggling with their gambling habits.

This is the priority for Sen. Wayne Fontana, among other policymakers in Pennsylvania, who are keen to plow the state’s resources where it matters, with vulnerable age groups including the 18-34 demographic. Sen. Fontana wants to revisit how gambling in the state operates, specifically addressing what he sees as central issues of the existing gambling framework. One is the ease of access, but the senator also wants to see credit cards permanently banned under state law for the purposes of gambling. Another part of his efforts is a suggestion to block operators from directly advertising to people on self-exclusion lists. Sen. Fontana is not the only person who has noted that the proliferation of gambling has led to more people getting involved with the activity. Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania executive director Josh Ercole has had this to say, commenting on the recent efforts to strengthen specific safeguards: There's a lot to be concerned about because there are a lot of conversations that are not being had at the level that they should be, and we are seeing some situations that are becoming problematic. Dr. Robert Tessier of the Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine also commented on the issue in the state on Friday during a hearing at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, adding: We've allowed this harm to grow up and now we need to put in some more guardrails and protections.

Efforts to aid problem gamblers in the Keystone State have not existed in a vacuum, with several initiatives taken up by lawmakers, private institutions, and organizations. Recently, Birches Health, a national clinical provider of specialized treatment for gambling disorder and related behavioral health conditions, has signed a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to deliver treatment support and care services to individuals and families impacted by problem gambling across the state. Several months before that, the Pennsylvania General Assembly backed funding for a digital gambling support platform that will seek to update the state’s approach to how it addresses problem gambling.