Imagine a casino throwing out a player who is gambling too much. It happens. And when thrown out the player might never be able to enter a casino anywhere in the country again.

As public officials legalize casinos they should assure that social responsibility pervades the new gambling scene. Concern for troubled gamblers should be part of the regulatory process.  But whereas some jurisdictions pay reluctant lip service to such concerns others have shown policy leadership that could serve as a model.

A case in point is Switzerland and its “Social Concept”.

Switzerland embarked on legalized casino gambling in 2002. The country knew about casinos before this time because they’ve long been operating in the surrounding countries of Italy, France, Germany and Austria. But slot machines weren’t legalized in Switzerland until 1977. In 1990 they were permitted in bars and restaurants where they soon became a matter of public concern as they were found almost everywhere. The main concern was for the growing number of problem gamblers. When the Swiss Constitution was amended in 1993 to allow a limited number of casinos all slot machines outside of casinos were banned, and it was required that licensees develop active programs to combat problem gambling. Legalization was a move toward controlling gambling. A Federal Gaming Board was created to review applications for licenses. Applicants were required to submit plans for the prevention of problem gambling which had to include an organizational structure, distribution of informational literature, training to help staff recognize problem behavior in customers, plans for getting help for problem gamblers and procedures for excluding problem players, and as part of this casinos were required to maintain records on players.

Soon after the first casinos opened in 2002, management came together and created the Schweizer Casino Verband (Casino Association of Switzerland), which has worked to coordinate problem gambling programs and help program directors unify their approaches.

They now collectively call their programs the “Swiss Social Concept”.

Players at Swiss casinos must identify themselves when they enter. They must produce a passport, resident permit or Swiss driver’s license to enter. These are checked against a data base of people who either are banned from entering or have playing restrictions (such as employees and shareholders). If they have no ID they cannot enter. If they are on a banned list they are asked to leave. All reception areas display informational brochures on problem gambling available in German, French and Italian. These describe problem gambling and its effects and include a checklist of symptoms. They provide a phone number to a 24-hour hot line and a Web site indicating how to get help.

Within each casino the Social Concept is administrated by a special committee that works with front-line employees and an outside specialist, typically a psychologist. Staff training is conducted by addictions professionals. Orientation for new employees includes four hours on problem gambling. After 90 days on the job employees attend a two-day seminar dealing with processes for observing players. They watch videos and become involved in role-playing. They are also trained to use written forms for observing troubled play. Supervisors and administrators attend a longer, four-day seminar which concentrates on communications with guests and co-workers. All employees attend annual refresher courses.

The heart of the program is the training front-line employees receive to enable them to observe signs of problem gambling. They learn to spot the obvious “critical” signs, which tend to involve extremes of emotional behavior and usually result in the banning of players for life, and more subtle “problem” signs, which might include talk about growing debts or family problems due to gambling, changes in personal appearance, differences in speed and manner of play and betting levels. These are reported in writing to management. This process can also be initiated by a third party, maybe another player or a family member. Supervisors review the reports and record them into a data base. A player under observation usually remains so for several weeks, after which the player may be approached to discuss the situation, or it may be decided that no action is necessary. Discussions can lead in different directions. The player might be asked if he or she wishes to be voluntarily banned, which would apply to all 19 of the country’s casinos. Or the player might agree to limit his or her play. The discussions might also encounter resistance as the player may not agree to a voluntary ban or to limits. The supervisor then decides if a mandatory ban (or limit) is appropriate. If so, the matter is referred to the administrative committee for a decision. The board of directors of the casino ratifies the decision.

Help doesn’t stop there. The casino furnishes information to banned players on how and where they may get counseling. The casino will help in setting up an appointment with a professional, in some cases paying for a first visit.

After a year a player may request that his or her ban be lifted. The player goes to the casino committee and presents evidence — financial, work and family information — to suggest it is safe to allow him or her to gamble. Personal bank accounts must be revealed. The player will be asked to show that he or she has engaged in counseling. It is difficult to get a ban rescinded, only about 10 percent of appeals are successful, and the decision can only be made by the casino that originally instituted the ban or limit.

The Federal Gaming Board audits the programs of every casino every year, a process that includes on-site visits. However, officials are still working to develop the tools to truly assess the Social Concept’s end results. Among the problems is that funding has yet to be allocated for surveys to show the prevalence of problem gambling in Switzerland since the casinos opened. igwb

Swiss casinos: the A’s, B’s and CHFs

Switzerland’s 2000 enabling law authorizes two types of casinos, “A” and “B”. Seven casinos carry the “A” designation, 14 are classified as “B”.

• “A” casinos can have unlimited numbers of tables and slot machines. They set their own wagering limits, and they may even work together to offer wide-area slot jackpots. They pay a basic tax rate of 40 percent of their winnings which increases 0.5 percent for each 1 million Swiss francs above CHF20 million. The effective tax rate is just over 50 percent.

• “B” casinos, of which 12 are operating, are permitted 150 slot machines each with a maximum bet of nine francs per play. Progressive jackpots on individual machines can be as high as CHF25,000. The number of tables is subject to a formula tied to numbers of machines. Maximum and minimum bets are set by law. “B” casinos pay a higher initial tax rate than the larger “A” casinos. The rate is 40 percent for the first CHF10 million in win, and it increases 1 percent for every CHF1 million thereafter. The overall effective tax rate for the “B” casinos is just under 50 percent.

• Combined gaming revenues reached CHF908.8 million (US$861.3 million) in 2007, a 5.4 percent increase over the previous year. More than three-quarters of the win came from slot machines, the rest from gaming tables. The number of visitors rose to 5 million from 4.7 million a year earlier. Tax paid was a combined CHF482.2 million, an increase of CHF26.2 million over 2006.

The industry employs about 2,400 people.