Maryland Voluntary Exclusion Program (VEP)

Terms you can choose

At least 2 years, or Life. Not automatic at term end, and the order of the steps is the part no published page states. MLGCA's Responsible Gaming program answered us in writing on 2026-10-02: the written request goes in first, the Commission sends back "the instructions for removal," and only then does the person complete a program — either "(a) A problem gambling treatment and prevention program approved by the Commission" or "(b) A healthy decision-making program that is sponsored or approved by the Commission, with a licensed professional counselor or other entity approved by the Commission." COMAR 36.01.03.06.B(1) carries the same two options. After completing one, the person signs and submits an Authorization and Release form and an Application for Removal form, and "thereafter, they will receive an official removal letter once the removal has been processed." No hearing is required, and there is no fixed decision turnaround: "The length of time for removal will vary, based on how long it takes the individual to fulfill these requirements." The agency's own overview page describes a narrower route — a state-certified problem gambling assessment, any recommended treatment, then a treatment and prevention program, with no healthy decision-making alternative — and which description governs is unresolved.

Sign up for the longest exclusion time you can. Future you will thank you.

When it ends

A fixed term continues until a removal is granted; whether a permanent term exists, and what would govern it, is not established.

A fixed term. Nothing comes off the list at the end of the 2-year minimum on its own, and the written request is the first step, not the last. After 2 years you send a written request to the Commission's Responsible Gaming Department, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21230, or responsible.gaming@maryland.gov, showing the COMAR 36.01.03.06 requirements are met. MLGCA's Responsible Gaming program told us in writing on 2026-10-02 what happens next: the Commission sends you the instructions for removal, and you then complete either a Commission-approved problem gambling treatment and prevention program or a Commission-approved healthy decision-making program run with a licensed professional counselor. After that you sign and submit an Authorization and Release form and an Application for Removal form, and an official removal letter comes once the removal has been processed. No hearing is required. There is no fixed turnaround — the agency says the time varies with how long you take to finish the requirements — so 2 years is a minimum and not an end date, and the work after the request is yours to do. The agency's overview page describes this more narrowly, as a problem gambling assessment by a state-certified professional, any treatment that assessment recommends, and then a treatment and prevention program; it names no healthy decision-making option. Go by the instructions the Commission sends you.

A lifetime term. Not verified: Life is one of the two terms the application offers ('At least 2 years OR Life'), but no source says what governs removal from it. COMAR 36.01.03.06 lets 'the individual' who has been on the list 'for at least 2 years' request removal and never mentions Life, and the application says only 'I will be on the List for at least two years, and maybe for life.' Whether a Life term can be removed, and how, is not established.

How to enroll

Apply in person at MLGCA headquarters or any Maryland casino.

The application must be filled out and submitted in person, either at MLGCA headquarters, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21230 by appointment (call 410-230-8798 or email responsible.gaming@maryland.gov), or at any of Maryland's six casinos during operating hours. Bring a government-issued photo ID; staff witness the interview and take your photograph there. In Section 1 you check each activity you want to be excluded from — Casinos, Lottery, Instant Bingo Hall, Fantasy Competitions, Sports Wagering — and an activity you do not check is not covered. Opening this page or downloading the form does not enroll you. Mailing a notarized application instead is a discretionary exception for extenuating circumstances that the MLGCA Responsible Gaming Program Director must approve in advance. We don't fill in or submit this form.

1. Download the VEP application (page 1 stamped 5/13/2025, pages 2-7 stamped 6/5/2026) and read Section 1 before you go, or complete it on site during the interview. We don't fill in or submit this form.
2. In Section 1, 'Select Your Exclusion', check every activity you want to be excluded from: Casinos, Lottery, Instant Bingo Hall, Fantasy Competitions, Sports Wagering. The form reads 'I want to be excluded from each gaming-related activity I select below.' Whatever you leave unchecked is not covered. If you skip one now, the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling's FAQ says you can come back later and add that list.
3. Bring a government-issued photo ID. Staff take your photograph at enrollment and ask for your Social Security number or another government ID number. You sign the application at the staff-witnessed interview.
4. No notary is needed for standard in-person enrollment — staff witness it and the form carries no notary block. Notarization applies only to the mail exception below.
5. Submit in person at MLGCA headquarters, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21230, by appointment (call 410-230-8798 or email responsible.gaming@maryland.gov), or at any of Maryland's six casinos during operating hours.
6. Mail is an exception, not a route you can simply choose: signing up must be done in person in most cases, and where there are extenuating circumstances an exception may be granted allowing a notarized application to be mailed. The MLGCA Responsible Gaming Program Director must approve the notary option in advance. No source publishes how to reach the Director or where an approved application is sent, and the agency's own overview page does not mention the exception at all.
7. After your interview, the Commission reviews the application and tells you in writing whether it is approved. You are on the list only once it is approved; then the Commission notifies the businesses for each activity you selected. No timeframe is published, so keep the letter when it comes.
8. Choose a term of at least 2 years, or Life. Nothing comes off the list on its own. After the 2-year minimum you request removal in writing to the Commission's Responsible Gaming Department, 1800 Washington Blvd., Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21230, or responsible.gaming@maryland.gov, showing the COMAR 36.01.03.06 requirements are met. That request is the start of it: MLGCA told us in writing that the Commission sends you the instructions for removal, and you then complete either a Commission-approved problem gambling treatment and prevention program or a Commission-approved healthy decision-making program with a licensed professional counselor. You sign and submit an Authorization and Release form and an Application for Removal form, and an official removal letter comes once the removal has been processed. No hearing is required, and there is no fixed turnaround — the agency says the time varies with how long you take to finish the requirements. The agency's overview page puts it more narrowly, as a problem gambling assessment by a state-certified professional, any treatment it recommends, then a treatment and prevention program, so follow the instructions the Commission sends you. If you choose Life, know that no source says whether this removal route applies to it: the rule speaks of anyone on the list at least 2 years and never mentions Life, and the application says only that you will be on the list 'for at least two years, and maybe for life.'

Official form (Page 1 stamped 5/13/2025; pages 2-7 stamped 6/5/2026) · Program page · 410-230-8798

Before you count on it. Coverage follows the activities you select, so read Section 1 twice before you sign: Casinos, Lottery, Instant Bingo Hall, Fantasy Competitions and Sports Wagering are five separate checkboxes on one application, and an activity you leave unchecked is not covered. Instant bingo coverage reaches only facilities operating more than 10 instant bingo machines. Mail is not an ordinary option — enrolling must be done in person in most cases, and a mailed notarized application requires advance approval from the MLGCA Responsible Gaming Program Director for extenuating circumstances; that exception appears on the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling's partner page, the agency's own overview page never mentions it, and no source says how to reach the Director or where an approved application goes. Whether a remotely notarized document would be accepted isn't addressed anywhere. Finishing the interview does not put you on the list. The Commission reviews the application, tells you in writing whether it is approved, and only then places you on the list and notifies the businesses you selected. No timeframe is published. Two years is a minimum, not an end date. Removal starts with a written request; MLGCA told us in writing that it then sends you instructions, and you complete either an approved problem gambling treatment and prevention program or an approved healthy decision-making program with a licensed professional counselor, submit an Authorization and Release form and an Application for Removal form, and get an official removal letter once it is processed. The agency sets no deadline — the time varies with how long you take to finish the requirements — its overview page describes the route more narrowly than its own answer and the regulation do, and no source says whether a Life term can be removed at all. Non-resident eligibility specifically isn't stated — the official FAQ says only that 'anyone can voluntarily exclude themselves.' The application says covered businesses must withhold any winnings while you are on the list, that you forfeit unredeemed items and may lose rewards points, and that you will not receive direct marketing about gaming. Check-cashing and credit privileges are not addressed. Online casino play is not covered. The MLGCA says licensed sports wagering and registered fantasy competitions are the only legal online options in Maryland, and that no other real-money online gambling operates legally there. A separate fantasy-operator 'direct exclusion' (COMAR 36.01.03.03) shuts off one named fantasy platform only and does not put you on this statewide list. Traditional or charitable bingo halls with 10 or fewer machines, racing and pari-mutuel wagering, and skills-based amusement devices have not been assessed.