{"id":181748,"date":"2021-08-03T07:01:24","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T14:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=181748"},"modified":"2021-08-03T09:45:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T16:45:54","slug":"new-jersey-proposed-gambling-court-provides-option-to-prison-proponents-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/new-jersey-proposed-gambling-court-provides-option-to-prison-proponents-say\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey Proposed Gambling Court Provides Option To Prison, Proponents Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposed specialized court for gambling-related offenses in New Jersey is getting increasing support from professionals in the field. They argue it provides a much-needed alternative to incarceration.<\/p>\n

\"The
Carol O’Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, pictured above. She supports setting up a New Jersey court similar to Nevada\u2019s Gambling Treatment Diversion Court. (Image: Steve Marucs\/Las Vegas Sun<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is based on Nevada\u2019s groundbreaking Gambling Treatment Diversion Court (GTDC), which was set up by Judge Cheryl Moss<\/a>. Eligible defendants in Nevada are given counseling and other support during a one- to three-year supervised period.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevada\u2019s \u2026 GTDC has proved to be an effective therapeutic alternative to incarceration for individuals who have committed a crime in the course of their gambling addiction,\u201d Carol O’Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Just like other specialty courts, [the] GTDC recognizes the need to treat the underlying addiction or mental health disorder, while simultaneously holding the participant accountable for the consequences of their crime,\u201d O’Hare said. That includes making financial restitution to any victims.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is an option to prison, where those with gambling addictions will likely receive no specialized counseling and have many opportunities to keep on gambling with fellow inmates, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPunishing the gambler through incarceration may give victims an immediate sense of justice being served. But in reality, when a problem gambler goes to prison, everyone does time,\u201d O\u2019Hare said. \u201cThe victims must wait for the gambler to complete their sentence before any financial restitution can begin, and the gambler\u2019s earning potential upon release will be negatively impacted due to the felony conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill to establish the New Jersey GTDC is pending in the state legislature. It is Bill No. 3976 in the state Senate and Bill No. 5604 in the Assembly. Among its most vocal supporters are Assemblymen Daniel Benson, D-Hamilton Square, and Ralph Caputo, D-Belleville.<\/p>\n

Not Prevention Program<\/h2>\n

Daniel J. Trolaro, assistant executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, notes the proposed gambling court is \u201cnot necessarily designed to reduce problem gambling, as it is not a prevention program.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather, it seeks to put … a focus on treatment and rehabilitation instead of incarceration and warehousing,\u201d Trolaro told Casino.org<\/em>. \u201cModeled in a way after the very successful program in Nevada and drug court<\/a> programs in other states, it recognizes that addiction is an illness that requires care and treatment instead of going to prison where gambling occurs on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants receive the help, support, and treatment they need while under a judge\u2019s supervision in an effort to improve their life and to make amends, Trolaro said.<\/p>\n

The gambling court would, for the first time, provide some alternative for previously law-abiding citizens who offend due only to their gambling addiction,\u201d Lia Nower, director of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University\u2019s School of Social Work, further told Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThose individuals should have the same opportunities as others with substance-based addictions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Leave It To Mental Health Professionals<\/h2>\n

Similar support comes from Attorney Stephen D. Schrier, who co-chairs Blank Rome\u2019s gaming law practice group and formerly was Deputy Attorney General for New Jersey\u2019s Division of Gaming Enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a lawyer in the gaming regulatory space, I am pleased to see that the legislature is seeking to take steps to address how problem gaming impacts the individual with the addiction, and that they are not relying on the gaming regulators to address this,\u201d Schrier said.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cGaming regulators are not equipped to deal with the individuals that need support\u2026. It should be up to professional mental health experts to determine whether an individual is affected by problem gambling, and how to address that in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A proposed specialized court for gambling-related offenses in New Jersey is getting increasing support from professionals in the field. They argue it provides a much-needed alternative to incarceration. It is based on Nevada\u2019s groundbreaking Gambling Treatment Diversion Court (GTDC), which was set up by Judge Cheryl Moss. Eligible defendants in Nevada are given counseling and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":181751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Jersey Proposed Gambling Court Provides Option To Prison<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A proposed specialized court for gambling-related offenses in New Jersey is getting increasing support from professionals. 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