Internet Gambling in New Jersey Could Increase Addiction

“For people who have a problem, there is a real concern due to the ease of access and the availability around the clock,” said Donald Weinbaum, CCGNJ executive director, in a radio interview with NJ1015. “You can gamble anytime, anyplace. You can even wake up in the middle of the night and gamble if you want, so that is a concern.”

New Jersey approved real money online gambling Monday for six of the state’s casino operators, leading addiction experts to fear the worst.

The Council on Compulsive Gambling in New Jersey helped to draw up some of the protections that casinos are now required to enforce, but that might not be enough.

“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,'" according to Council on Compulsive Gambling in New Jersey assistant director Jeffrey Beck.

In an interview with CBS Philadelphia, Beck expressed concerns over individuals alone in their homes “acting 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.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com