Responsibilities and Mission of Stakeholders
The development of the gaming industry profoundly influences everyone in Macao. Maintaining the healthy development of the gaming industry is not only the priority of the policymaker when developing relevant policies, but also a social issue that everyone in society should care about. Therefore, the Macao SAR Government, gaming operators, gambling disorder prevention and treatment centres, education organisations and other community organisations, as well as gamblers and their families/friends, are all indispensable stakeholders in promoting Responsible Gambling (RG).
With these five groups of stakeholders, it can be seen that Responsible Gambling policies attach importance to personal responsibility, corporate responsibility, and social responsibility. Different stakeholders and organisers, by closely coordinating and communicating with each other, are committed to working together to promote Responsible Gambling policies, and have achieved good results. Their efforts have not only increased Macao residents’ awareness of the concept of Responsible Gambling, but have also increased their awareness of the harm of gambling disorder. These can greatly help reduce the negative impact that might be caused by gambling on Macao society.
The Macao SAR Government, as the public authority, is responsible for directing Responsible Gambling policies; it is also responsible for implementing the policies and supervising the implementation of such policies. The Social Welfare Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau are the two major government departments that promote Responsible Gambling. They have the following work goals:
- To develop and formulate an Responsible Gambling policy framework on the basis that a balance is maintained between the welfare and the rights of different parties and that Macao’s gaming industry develops steadily and healthily, so as to reduce the negative impact that might be caused by the development of the gaming industry;
- To supervise the implementation and execution of Responsible Gambling policies;
- To carry out various academic research or surveys, and to regularly review policy directions;
- To establish Responsible Gambling standards and practice guidelines;
- To help and motivate gaming operators, social organisations, and gamblers to put in place Responsible Gambling policies and measures.
Operating in Macao, gaming operators have an indispensable social responsibility to ensure the healthy development of the gaming industry and of Macao society. To this end, conducting business in a responsible manner has become extremely important. According to the concept of Responsible Gambling policies, gaming operators should provide gamblers with an environment where they can make informed decisions. In view of this, gaming operators should set the following work goals:
- To provide employees with training on gambling disorder and Responsible Gambling;
- To provide patrons with accurate gambling information at their request;
- To not contain false, misleading, or deceiving information in any promotions;
- To not promote gambling activities to patrons at their request;
- To not deliberately promote gambling activities to any person under the minimum legal age for gambling;
- To not allow any person under the minimum legal age for gambling to enter any gambling areas;
- To provide patrons with information about the odds of games, so that they can gamble in an informed environment;
- To put up information about the potential risks of gambling activities, and posters or slogans about Responsible Gambling in the casino prominently;
- To put in place exclusion measures – self-exclusion or family exclusion – by prohibiting an individual from entering a gambling area if necessary;
- To not promote gambling activities to people on the exclusion list;
- To not allow people on the exclusion list and alcoholics to enter a gambling area.
With rich experience in serving the community, gambling disorder prevention and treatment centres are the frontline workers in terms of promoting information about Responsible Gambling and the prevention and treatment of gambling disorders. They have made contributions at various levels regarding gambling prevention education as well as gambling treatment and counselling. Their job mainly includes:
- Providing individuals with gambling counselling and treatment services when necessary, and helping gambling disorder sufferers out of the predicament to start a new life;
- Providing counselling for the family of gambling disorder sufferers to assist them in dealing with adversity correctly;
- Promoting Responsible Gambling information.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure – people can have better immunity from gambling problems with correct values. However, it doesn’t happen overnight for people to develop correct values – it requires basic education and daily community education. Besides, academic institutions have a significant role. Since the liberalisation of the gaming industry, academic institutions have been committed to the formulation of Responsible Gambling policies and relevant promotion. They have provided huge support for the creation of a responsible gambling society.
Schools and community organisations are responsible for:
- Teaching young people to have correct values;
- Assisting in promoting Responsible Gambling education;
- Organising different recreational activities to prevent residents from becoming addicted to gambling;
- When discovering gambling disorder sufferers, encouraging them to receive treatment or refer them to a gambling disorder prevention and treatment centre.
Research and academic institutions are responsible for:
- Regularly studying and evaluating the contents, implementation, and effectiveness of Responsible Gambling policies;
- Providing strategic and feasible suggestions according to research results.
Gamblers are the most essential players in Responsible Gambling. If a gambler can have self-control and only participate in gambling reasonably, along with a reasonable gambling environment jointly created by the government, gaming operators and community organisations, the negative impact caused by gambling can be greatly reduced.
Gamblers should:
- Only see gambling as a form of entertainment, and not allow gambling to be a way to invest and make money;
- Get to know the potential risks of gambling before they gamble, and set an affordable limit on the money and the time to be spent on gambling;
- Not bring a credit card or debit card to gamble, and not borrow money or indulge in drinking because of gambling;
- Record the details of each gambling activity, for example wins, losses and dates;
- Take the initiative to seek assistance when discovering that they cannot control their gambling behaviours.
Family members and friends of gamblers should:
- Not participate in gambling with any family member/friend under the minimum legal age to gamble, and not help any such person participate in gambling, for example, not help them buy lottery tickets;
- Dissuade their family members/friends under the minimum legal age to gamble as well as their family members/friends on the exclusion list from participating in gambling;
- Show more care for their family members/friends to prevent them from becoming addicted to gambling;
- Encourage and support their family members/friends with gambling disorder to receive formal counselling and treatment, and avoid helping them by giving them money directly.