‘Responsible Gambling Promotions 2020’ officially kicks off today. Jointly launched by the Social Welfare Bureau, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming of the University Macau. Under the theme ‘Lost Control, Lose Family’, this year’s Responsible Gambling Promotions aims to remind the public that they should have self-control when gambling, and to increase public awareness about the importance of parenting. ‘Responsible Gambling Promotions 2020’ is going to roll out a series of promotional activities from September to December. To this end, the social service sector and the gaming industry are going to organise a variety of activities, including community-based promotions and activities, an RG interactive game on WeChat as well as a closing ceremony, and etc.

This year’s Responsible Gambling Promotions sees the participation of six social service units: Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Macau – Smart Financial Promotion Plan; Macao Gaming Industry Employees Home Integrated Services Centre; Macau Youth Volunteer Association – Rainbow Life Gaming Employee Service Programme; Sheng Kung Hui 24-Hour Hotline and Online Gambling Counselling Services; Sheng Kung Hui Gambling Counselling and Family Wellness Centre; and Macao New Chinese Youth Association – Smart Teen Programme. These units are going to hold a wide range of community-based activities surrounding this year’s theme. For example, there will be an RG Memes Design Competition, an RG Promotion Day with gaming employees as promoters, drama skills classes, online games, prize-winning online quizzes, an online word game on resisting gambling, and etc.

In addition, there are responsible gambling activities held by the gaming industry throughout the year. For instance, SJM holds an activity named “Family Maze Game - ‘Lost Control, Lose Family’” for its employees and their family members, a seminar on the off duty casino entry ban, a foundation certificate course in ‘Responsible Gaming – Sustainable Development Planning’, and an ‘RG Competition Awards Ceremony’, so as to enable its management and employees to join forces to promote RG and take pleasure in the activities. Wynn has internal and external RG promotions. Internally, it organises training courses, workshops, and promotions in its back-of-house areas. Externally, Wynn is planning to convert ‘Stay Control or Lose’ – the winning script in the student category of last year’s ‘Responsible Gaming Script Contest’ – into a micro movie and release it on social media platforms as a means to publicise RG. With ‘family relationships’ as the annual theme, GEG holds RG Committee Training for its RG Committee members, along with workshops, roadshows, the 8th GEG Responsible Gaming Awareness Week, and seasonal awareness campaigns. To diversify and amplify promotion, GEG has also sponsored a parent-child adventure experience activity, in an effort to spread knowledge of RG.

Sands China holds RG ambassador refresher training, a parent-child handicraft workshop, a sharing session on gambling disorder with counsellors as speakers, and RG roadshows. It also creates promotional videos, supports a parent-child drama about RG, and makes donations to social service organisations. Melco organises RG ambassador training, refresher training sessions and online advanced training, as well as releases RG monthly focus. Melco also sets up RG game booths, organises the ‘RG Promotion Month’, launches an online quiz about RG, and teams up with social service organisations to hold RG roadshows in the back-of-house areas. MGM holds RG awareness training and refresher training for its employees on a regular basis. It also provides on-site counselling services for its employees and their family members. MGM also holds a series of activities include a roadshow titled ‘Let’s Strive for a Happy Family’, a workshop titled ‘Healthy Family & Wealth’, and a training named ‘Let’s Roll RG’.

In addition to the various training and community-based activities by the gaming industry and the social service sector, print media, TV broadcast, radio broadcast and social media platforms will be used to promote gambling disorder prevention to the public between September and December. For more information, please visit the website of The Resilience Centre of the Social Welfare Bureau at http://iasweb.ias.gov.mo/cvf/ or download the RG App.