New Jersey's AG launches problem gambling awareness campaign

New Jersey’s Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has announced an 11-month program that is intended to help boost awareness for problem gambling in the Garden State and equip consumers with the means to protect themselves from harm or seek help if they are struggling to control their habits. The initiative coincides with the National Council on Problem Gambling-backed Problem Gambling Awareness Month, and it’s the latest effort on a state level to help protect consumers.

AG Platkin said that his office was particularly concerned with problem gambling and the impact it has on the public. As sports betting and casinos are far more widespread now, AG Platkin felt it was his responsibility to educate consumers about the risks associated with the activity.

"This work starts with ensuring awareness of the many tools available to assist individuals who struggle with gambling, including comprehensive prevention strategies and treatment and recovery services," he noted.

He acknowledged that for most people legalized gambling did not lead to addiction, but still noted that the state was obligated to do its best to protect vulnerable consumers and deploy various responsible gambling initiatives that continually help educate players and help those who have developed a problem through a network of professional services.

The campaign will focus on raising awareness for the problem, destigmatizing it, and encouraging individuals who may experience harm to reach out to the professional services available to them to help address the problem head-on. Understanding of problem gambling is evolving quickly and professional help now includes financial advice on how to overcome gambling debt as well as focus on treating their compulsive disorder.

The campaign will encourage consumers in New Jersey to also utilize gaming limits and controls so that they can get better control of their gambling habits. Division of Gaming Enforcement Interim CEO Mary Jo Flaherty was similarly pleased with the opportunity to see yet another imitative take place.

Flaherty said that the regulator has done a fair bit to improve and strengthen the safeguards used to protect consumers last year and that the division was now eager to continue this good work. Overall, the campaign will cost $300,000 and will be managed by a marketing agency out of Whippany, New Jersey.

The campaign also arrives at an important time for the state, when the players who are at a high risk of developing a problem account for 6% of all participants, based on a Rutgers University report. Prevention is the most effective way to reduce gambling harm, and the most cost-efficient, too, and New Jersey is determined to continue working on strengthening its screening and prevention methods, starting with educating players on how to spot the signs themselves.

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