Arizona Department of Gaming promotes self-exclusion programme

The department has launched a digital, TV and radio advertisement.

US.- The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) has announced the launch of new public service announcements, including Take Back the Game, a digital, TV, and radio advertisement that raises awareness of the state’s self-exclusion programme. The thirty-second spot in English and Spanish shows a self-exclusion take place at the Department’s Phoenix office.

Developed with the Arizona Media Association, Take Back the Game is one of three new public service announcements. The others are No Online Casinos in AZ, which stresses that online casinos are not legal in the state, and Too Young to Bet, which raises awareness of underage gambling.

The self-exclusion programme allows residents to exclude themselves from all regulated tribal casinos, licensed event wagering, and fantasy sports contest operators for a year, 5 years or ten years. Since its inception, the programme has helped more than 11,900 Arizonans has used the programme. Currently, there are 2,500 people on the list.

Jackie Johnson, department director, said: “Arizona first launched a voluntary self-exclusion programme in the early 2000s as a tool for residents to opt out of visiting tribal casinos if they decided gambling was negatively impacting their well-being and becoming problematic. Later, the Department expanded the programme to include event wagering and fantasy sports. Today, with the Take Back the Game campaign, our agency affirms the value of self-exclusion as an empowering, practical tool that has positive impacts for thousands of Arizonans.”

In January, the ADG’s Division of Problem Gambling announced the launch of its first peer support and recovery services programme. The agency awarded the contract to Dezerve Counselling. The initiative is expected to launch in mid-2026.