Iowa casinos celebrate "Responsible Gaming Education Week"

Iowa’s race track and riverboat casinos are celebrating “Responsible Gaming Education Week.” Wes Ehrecke, President of the Iowa Gaming Association, says they have a couple of goals. He says they want to heighten awareness of the gambling treatments and deterrents that’re available and to distinguish between “high risk” and “low risk” wagering. Ehrecke says the casino operators don’t want problem gamblers visiting their establishments. He says casinos encourage people to only spend money earmarked for entertainment, and to not spend money meant for other things such as food and clothing on gambling. Ehrecke says a vast majority of people –over 98 percent — gamble responsibly.All 13 casinos in the state are members of the Iowa Gaming Association, which Ehrecke says helps casinos train employees to encourage responsible gambling.Ehrecke says each casino is holding special events this week to highlight responsible gambling. He says they try to heighten the awareness of the voluntary exclusion program in which someone can ban themselves for life from a casino. They invite treatment counselors to come in and look at their signage and talk with employees about how to help people. For more information on the week, check out the I-G-A’s website at www.iowagaming.org.