The number of Pennsylvania residents voluntarily banning themselves from gambling has increased sharply since the state legalized online casinos in 2019. A new investigation shows that self-exclusions are no longer concentrated around traditional casino locations, with some rural communities now reporting among the highest rates in the state.
The findings come from a November 9 investigation by Pittsburgh’s Public Source, which analyzed Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board records to examine how gambling self-exclusion patterns have changed over time.
The investigation raises questions about how the growth of online gambling is affecting communities that previously had limited access to casinos, as well as whether existing responsible gambling protections are keeping pace with the industry’s expansion.
Rural Pennsylvania Sees Significant Increase in Gambling Self-Exclusions
One of the clearest examples comes from Blair County, a largely rural area in central Pennsylvania.
Before online casinos launched in 2019, just six Blair County residents had voluntarily excluded themselves from gambling over the preceding decade. By 2025, that number had climbed to 115 residents in a single year.
That placed Blair County third in Pennsylvania for self-exclusions relative to its population, despite the area historically having limited access to physical casinos.
The broader statewide figures also show how widely self-exclusion programs are being used. According to the investigation, approximately 53,000 people had registered for gambling self-exclusion in Pennsylvania, including about 46,000 state residents.
The difference reflects people living in neighboring states who have also chosen to restrict their access to Pennsylvania’s gambling market.
Elizabeth Lanza, director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling, told Public Source that online gambling has made casino games accessible to people who previously did not gamble regularly.
Unlike traditional casinos, online gambling platforms allow eligible players to access slots, blackjack, roulette and other games from their phones or computers without traveling to a casino.
However, Lanza also acknowledged that Pennsylvania made self-exclusion enrollment easier when online gambling was introduced. Residents can now register online rather than visiting a physical casino, meaning some of the increase may reflect improved access to responsible gambling tools.
That distinction is important. Rising self-exclusion numbers indicate greater use of gambling restrictions, but they do not necessarily prove that gambling addiction has increased at the same rate.
Younger Players Make Up a Growing Share of Self-Exclusions
The investigation also identified changes in the demographics of people registering for gambling restrictions.
Younger adults have accounted for an increasing share of Pennsylvania’s self-exclusions since online gambling became legal. The data also shows that men now register at substantially higher rates than women.
By 2020, approximately five men were registering for self-exclusion for every two women, a pattern that continued as total registrations increased.
The findings suggest that the population seeking gambling restrictions has changed alongside the expansion of digital gambling.
Still, self-exclusion data cannot establish which groups are losing the most money or experiencing the highest rates of gambling disorders. People may choose to exclude themselves for different reasons, and many individuals experiencing gambling problems never enroll in these programs.
The investigation also identified historical errors in the regulator’s age data. Those errors were corrected during the reporting process, underscoring the importance of interpreting demographic trends carefully.
West Virginia Research Raises Questions About Online Casino Revenue
The Pennsylvania findings come as researchers in neighboring West Virginia examine how online casino revenue is distributed among players.
Matthew Mullis, a researcher at West Virginia University’s Center for Gaming Research and Development, has been analyzing gambling activity at one of the state’s largest online casinos.
His preliminary findings suggest that a relatively small percentage of customers account for a substantial share of gambling activity and operator revenue.
According to figures reported by Public Source, approximately 5% of the casino’s 16,500 players accounted for 70% of bets and 90% of revenue during the period examined.
The top 1% of players, approximately 165 individuals, reportedly generated about half of the casino’s revenue.
The analysis draws on a much larger dataset that includes roughly 43 million monthly bets at the operator.
These figures are significant because they raise questions about how online casinos identify potentially harmful gambling behavior among their highest-spending customers.
However, the findings remain preliminary and concern a single operator. High gambling spending does not automatically indicate that a customer has a gambling disorder, and additional research is needed before drawing broader conclusions about the industry.
West Virginia began requiring online casino operators to provide gambling data to researchers under legislation passed in 2024. That access could eventually help researchers better understand player behavior and identify patterns associated with gambling harm.
How Pennsylvania’s Online Casino Self-Exclusion Program Works
Pennsylvania offers several voluntary self-exclusion programs through the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, including a program specifically covering licensed online gambling.
Players who enroll in the iGaming self-exclusion program can restrict themselves from participating in online casino gambling for a selected period.
The program is designed to prevent excluded individuals from accessing licensed gambling platforms using their verified identities.
Pennsylvania also offers separate self-exclusion programs for physical casinos, video gaming terminals and fantasy contests. Players should understand that these programs have different coverage rules and that enrollment in one category does not necessarily create an identical restriction across every gambling activity.
Licensed operators may also impose broader restrictions under their own policies.
For online casino players, self-exclusion provides a stronger restriction than simply setting a daily deposit limit or temporarily closing an account.
However, the program has limitations.
Pennsylvania’s self-exclusion requirements apply to gambling operators regulated by the state. They do not automatically prevent someone from accessing offshore casinos operating outside Pennsylvania’s licensing system.
That distinction is particularly important for US players who use international gambling websites.
Offshore casinos may offer their own responsible gambling controls, including account closures, deposit limits and voluntary exclusions. However, those protections vary by operator and are not necessarily connected to state-administered exclusion databases.
Players considering an offshore casino should understand how its responsible gambling policies work, including whether an account restriction is permanent, how it affects existing balances and whether it applies across affiliated brands.
What the Findings Mean for Online Casino Players
Pennsylvania’s experience illustrates one of the challenges facing states that legalize online casino gambling.
Digital platforms make casino games accessible to a much larger geographic audience, including residents who previously lived far from a gambling establishment.
That convenience can benefit people who choose to gamble recreationally, but it also makes effective spending controls, account restrictions and responsible gambling education increasingly important.
The Public Source investigation does not establish that online casino legalization alone caused the increase in self-exclusions. Changes in enrollment procedures, public awareness and gambling participation may all influence the numbers.
Nevertheless, the geographic shift is difficult to ignore. Communities that once recorded very few gambling exclusions are now seeing substantially greater participation in these programs.
For regulators, the findings raise questions about whether operators are doing enough to identify potentially harmful gambling patterns before customers reach the point of requesting self-exclusion.
For players, the takeaway is more immediate: responsible gambling protections should be understood before depositing money, rather than only after gambling becomes difficult to control.
Pennsylvania players can review the state’s official self-exclusion programs through the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Anyone concerned about their gambling can also contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET.
As more states consider legalizing online casinos, Pennsylvania’s experience offers an important reminder that expanding gambling access also creates greater responsibility for operators, regulators and the systems designed to protect players.
Last Updated: 18 hours ago
