In an attempt to keep away from casinos’ lure, problem gamblers in Alberta, Canada, voluntarily added their names to a self-exclusion list for the past six years. However, some have found it “very easy” to sneak by security at casinos from which they are banned, the Calgary Herald reported yesterday.
According to the newspaper, this is what Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission discovered during an evaluation of the program, which includes about 1,500 people.
"People quickly identify that there's no teeth to it," said Robert Williams, coordinator of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute. "So, (the agreement) just becomes a piece of paper."
"It's just not going to work for security guards to try to remember the faces of 1,500 people," he continued.
If caught in the act, those on the list face jail time or fines up to $10,000.