Under state gaming law, gamblers who feel they have a problem can register their name with the state and effectively ban themselves from all 10 of Illinois’ licensed casinos. Illinois’ self-exclusion program was introduced in 2001. “Then they find out there’s a problem, and that’s when they self-exclude.”

They struggle in the beginning,” said Olsen. “The problem gambler doesn’t really want to hear it. It is not easy work, and only a fraction of problem gamblers admit they are in too deep. He is affiliated with Illinois Gamblers Anonymous, and in 2000 he also began an independent group with fellow addicts, called The Outreach Foundation. More than three decades since he last bet money on anything, Olsen is working as a problem gambling counselor. “Once we get that feeling, of getting something for nothing,” said Olsen, “we think we’re invincible.” It is a story mirrored by thousands of Illinoisans. “My gambling really started when I was six or seven years old, playing marbles,” said Olsen, a lifelong resident of Illinois.īy adulthood, Olsen had descended into crushing debt and family troubles, because of his gambling addiction. Time Warner Cable News addressed both of those issues in Des Plaines, Illinois, a city near the size of Schenectady.īy the time he was a young adult in the 1970s, Bob Olsen was addicted to gambling, but his problem began much earlier in life. People in potential host communities made it no secret that they feared rampant gambling addictions, as well as a dramatic rise in crime rates connected to casinos. During New York’s casino debate and selection process, two common criticisms often arose.

The rivers casino des plaines