Gambling Addicts to be Blacklisted

April 11 - Problem gamblers in South Africa may soon find the doors of all their favorite haunts closed in their face, thanks to a new initiative promoted by the South African National Gambling Board and the National Responsible Gambling Program.

In previous years, the best that casinos could do to keep gambling addicts out was to blacklist them in their own establishments and prevent any future entries. This may have helped the casino from keeping out problematic customers, but it did not help the gambler himself, who would simply move on to the next casino who was not yet aware of his problem.

However, the new initiative may bring an end to this possibility. It calls for all casinos in the country to run one single blacklist which will include the names of all gambling addicts who walk through their doors. The list will link all the casinos and resorts and will essentially prevent players from using any of them.

If all goes well, the South African National Gambling Board hopes that the new plan will come into effect as early as next month.

The chairman of the Anti-Addiction Campaign, Warren Whitfield, who had called for stricter control in the gambling industry only last week, praised the idea and said: "It's an excellent initiative".

Besides being put on the blacklist by casinos around the country, another way for gambling addicts to join the list is by putting themselves on voluntarily. This is a system used by many online casinos as a way for gamblers to control their own betting habits. The problem with joining voluntarily, however, is that it is not so easy to get oneself off again. In fact, it takes a judge's decision to reverse the blacklisting.

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