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The drinks won't be on the house at the city's slot machine casino if the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force gets its way.

In recommendations approved yesterday, task force members are urging the state Gaming Control Board to prohibit casinos from offering free drinks to patrons.

The ban on "comping" is one of series of recommendations from the task force that seeks to address social problems that could crop up with a slot machine casino, including gambling addiction, problem drinking and crime.

Task force members also want the casino operator to pay the cost of police protection and any specialized training that will be required to deter crime near the facility.

It also is calling for the Pittsburgh casino to set up a "self-exclusion" program under which problem gamblers could sign up to bar themselves from the facility and possibly face legal consequences if they violate the self-imposed ban.

But perhaps the most eye-catching recommendation is the proposed ban on complimentary drinks, as much a staple in the casino industry as neon lights.

Anne Swager, task force co-chair, said the idea is to address potential trouble spots before they become full-blown social problems.

Free alcohol could lead to excessive drinking, which in turn could impair judgment and lead to greater gambling losses, she said.

"The thought is to try to prevent unanticipated losses," she said.

But a ban on complimentary drinks also could put the Pittsburgh casino at a competitive disadvantage, said Joseph Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, an industry consultant.

Outside of race track casinos in New York and Delaware, he is not aware of any jurisdictions that ban complimentary drinks or gifts. He said free drinks are an amenity patrons have come to expect from casinos.

"If you're a player, you're going to want to be served free drinks. You're not going to want to spend $2 every time the cocktail server comes by. I think among gamblers a casino that doesn't offer complimentary beverages might be seen as a second tier [facility]," he said.

However, Bruce Barron, president of No Dice, a Pittsburgh anti-gambling organization, said the ban is "certainly something we would support."

"If the Pittsburgh Pirates were to offer free drinks to prospective season ticket holders, we would blast them for thinking their product could not be marketed to the sober," he said.

"On the other hand, when casinos do this, when people are squandering hundreds of times more money than the price of a season ticket we hardly bat an eye. To get people drunk and then bilk them out of thousands of dollars is something no society should countenance."

The task force did not say how many additional police officers would be needed to combat casino-related crime or suggest how much money a casino operator might have to provide. Ms. Swager said the Pittsburgh police still are coming up with recommendations in terms of staffing.

While the group's social impact committee said that data from New Orleans and Detroit does not show an overall jump in the crime rate because of gambling, the number of "net crimes" in the vicinity of a casino likely would increase "without an appropriate police presence."

In terms of self exclusion, the task force said such programs, which are used in other jurisdictions, appear to work best in conjunction with rewards programs that track gambling activity. It said the gamblers most often caught are those who seek to collect winnings and must present identification.

Under law, the state Gaming Control Board must set up a list for people to voluntarily banned themselves from casinos.

But Mr. Barron said the problem with the state law and programs in many other areas is that the casinos are not liable if someone who bans himself ends up gambling.

"Self-exclusion is a powerful tool if it is enforceable against the casinos," he said.

Other task force recommendations included:

Implementing a system to monitor the effects the casino is having on people and neighborhoods in the city, with the results made public.

Encouraging the casino to fund child-care services for employees.

Lobbying the casino to provide funding to drug and alcohol treatment facilities that also become qualified to treat gambling addictions. The task force said that adequate treatment facilities do not exist in Pittsburgh for gambling addictions.

Requiring the casino operator to establish "traveler aid" programs to help patrons who have suffered heavy losses and who need assistance to get home.

Encouraging the casino to send monthly gambling activity statements to patrons in rewards programs.

The task force plans on submitting its recommendations to the state Gambling Control Board for consideration. Gaming board spokesman Nick Hays said the agency would review them.

According to the task force's social impact committee, the great unknown that still remains is how many people will develop gambling addictions as the result of the casino.