Pennsylvania’s gambling regulator closed the public comment period on Aug. 10 for proposed responsible-gambling rule changes, leaving Regulation #125-258 under review and not yet final. The package, published on July 11, would update rules covering casinos, interactive gaming, video gaming terminals and fantasy contests.
In a July 29 filing, the National Council on Problem Gambling said it was largely supportive of the new rulemaking and that nearly all of the changes were a step toward protecting player health and safety.
The council praised the proposed advertising standards in Section 501a.7 and the interactive-gaming provisions in Section 814a.1. Under the ad rules, operators could not market to audiences in which a majority are below legal gambling age, target people based on their removal from suspended or excluded gaming status, or run false, misleading or irresponsible promotions. The proposal gives examples that would bar claims that gambling can solve financial or personal problems, guarantee a win or be risk-free.
NCPG also backed the idea of specific, enforceable advertising rules, but it objected to a proposal that would cut the minimum size of gambling-assistance messages on billboards from 5% to 2%. It urged the board not to weaken the billboard requirement and asked regulators to update help messaging to reflect the shift to 1-800-MY-RESET.
On interactive gaming, the proposal would require platforms to show the current local time and the length of the active session, then send an hourly pop-up showing how long the player has been logged in and how much has been wagered. Players could choose 15-minute or 30-minute reminders, but the notifications would have to be dismissed before play continued. Separately, the proposal would let players request detailed account statements covering the previous 12 months, or a summary going back to account creation, including deposits, withdrawals, wins, losses, balances and the history of self-imposed limits. Those statements could be shown online, downloaded or sent to the player. NCPG went further and urged the board to make time and spending limits the default for new online accounts, with the option to switch them off. The IRRC page says the final regulation has not yet been submitted.
