“Our priority is protecting the interests of the citizens of Michigan,” Says MGCB

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) gives insight into how it is committed to keeping gambling as safe as possible within the state.
a pink umbrella on a pink background. "Our priority is protecting the interests of the citizens of Michigan," Says MGCB. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) gives insight into how it is committed to keeping gambling as safe as possible within MI.
By
June 09, 2022

Operators have a direct link to each player, so it is important to be aware of the user experience and intervene as needed to promote responsible gaming effortsThe Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has reiterated that the organization’s top priority is to protect online gamblers in the state from gambling harm.

The comments were made to pokerfuse as part of a wide-ranging interview with Mary Kay Bean, Communications Specialist at the MGCB, which dug into the responsible gambling efforts of the Board and how it prioritizes player safety.

Specifically when asked about Michigan joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) — which will allow for sharing of online player pools between Michigan, Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey — and if the Board plans to ramp up RG efforts in the lead-up to the combined player pool expanding from 13 million to 23.5 million people — the MGCB had this to say:

“Our priority is protecting the interests of the citizens of the state of Michigan while continuing to follow the statute and associated administrative rules,” Bean said in the interview. “Operators have a direct link to each player so it is important to be aware of the user experience and intervene as needed to promote responsible gaming efforts. We require the sites to include information on where to find resources and help.”

Every operator that works within the MSIGA agreement will have to clearly communicate with players what gambling help resources are available to them.

“The MGCB has a long history of working in self-exclusion as we’ve administered a program for the Detroit commercial casinos for more than 20 years,” Bean said. The MGCB offers players a way to self-exclude across the board so that they don’t have to individually make that request at each online gambling site.

While we can’t forecast what may happen after multi-jurisdictional poker begins, we are ready to address our citizens’ responsible gaming needs “Additionally, our agency is a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling, which allows us to increase our impact as it relates to responsible gaming with access, on a nationwide level, to networking opportunities, webinars, and the ability to collaborate and address problem gambling”, Bean went on to say. “While we can’t forecast what may happen after multi-jurisdictional poker begins, we are ready to address our citizens’ responsible gaming needs.”

However this self-exclusion request can take up to 45 days for the MGCB to process. When asked why a player would be better off going through the MGCB rather than via the site directly, the Board said that going via its application form has its merits.

“Operators and platform providers are required to offer opt-out options on their sites. Patrons are already on the site, and it’s easy to click to another part of the site to self-exclude. The operators and platform providers can offer more options for exclusion times: lifetime, six months, etc. However, those who wager on multiple sites would have to visit each site individually to self-exclude.”

The MGCB also believe gambling should always be a leisure activity and players should not only know their limits, but educate themselves as to what tools are available to them to help them control how much time and money they spend gambling online.

Popular responsible gaming tools to help players stay in control are:

  • Deposit Limits
  • Time Limits
  • Game Type Limits
  • Loss Limits
  • Wager Limits

A recent research paper created by the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) dug into the uptake of RG tools and how players should normalize their usage. The organization also recommends that all gambling operators offer a standard suite of tools to help players get familiar with what tools are on offer across the board.

If a player lives in Michigan and is struggling with gambling addiction they can call the Michigan Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-270-7117.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500