Pennsylvania’s voluntary gambling self-exclusion programme has spread well beyond the counties surrounding brick-and-mortar casinos, according to a new analysis of public Gaming Control Board data. The shift followed the 2019 arrival of online casino gambling, with enrolments rising in counties far from casino hubs.
Public Source’s analysis, reported by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, found that Blair County illustrates the change. In the decade before 2019, only six county residents enrolled, one of the lowest rates in the state. In the year before the analysis was published, 115 Blair County residents self-excluded, equivalent to just under one per 1,000 residents and the third-highest concentration statewide.
Blair County had neither a casino nor one in a bordering county before 2025. Before online gambling, people who voluntarily barred themselves were concentrated largely in or near counties with casinos; the analysis found the geographic pattern broadened after online play began.
As reported in October, Pennsylvania recorded 10,384 voluntary self-exclusion registrations in fiscal year 2025-26, up 18% from the preceding year.
The analysis put the total number of people on Pennsylvania’s self-exclusion lists at about 53,000, including roughly 46,000 Pennsylvania residents. Hundreds of enrollees live in New Jersey, New York and Delaware.
The profile of enrollees has also changed. Self-excluding participants have become younger, more male, more rural and increasingly white, the analysis found. Young adults accounted for a larger share after online wagering was legalised, while the share aged 55 and older fell after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic before beginning to recover. By 2020, about five men enrolled for every two women, a ratio that has since held.
Elizabeth Lanza said many people enrolling had not gambled regularly before online services gave them round-the-clock access. She also said the board made enrolment more accessible with the introduction of online gambling by allowing people to register online rather than requiring a casino visit. Lanza described self-exclusion as an effective tool, but not treatment, and recommended self-help or formal treatment alongside it.
The board’s official programme lets individuals choose an exclusion period covering casinos, internet gambling, video gaming terminals and fantasy sports wagering. Enrolment is available through the board’s website or at a PGCB office; violating the terms can lead to confiscated winnings and a criminal-trespass citation. The casino programme began in 2006, while additional programmes for other regulated gambling types began in 2019.
Separate 2025 research commissioned through the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs estimated that up to 30% of Pennsylvania adults had taken part in some form of online gambling in the previous year, compared with 20% in the 2024 assessment. The Gaming Control Board’s 2024-25 annual report said internet accessibility made responsible-gambling tools more critical and noted that it had published self-exclusion statistics through PowerBI.
