IAS wants responsible gambling kiosk in every casino

The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) president Iong Kong Io has said that the authorities are planning to install at least one kiosk that promotes responsible gambling in every local casino.
The kiosks come in two versions: one for the casinos; and another for the community. Currently, 12 kiosks are installed and in operation.
Apart from providing users with information about responsible gambling, the kiosks allow local residents to apply for self-exclusion from gambling facilities. Upon the confirmation of self-exclusion, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) director may prohibit the applicant from entering some or all casinos for a maximum period of two years in accordance with the relevant law.
A telephone is also set up in the kiosks that connects the user to a 24-hour counseling hotline, which is operated by Sheng Kung Hui Macau.
The IAS director said in the opening ceremony for two kiosks yesterday that they will continue to develop the kiosk’s 3.0 version this year. “There will be a rapid increase in the installation of the kiosks in 2016… Our goal is to have the kiosks set up in every casino,” he said.
The officials also insisted that the machines are working, despite the fact that they require users to cooperate voluntarily. “[The kiosks] that are in the community and casinos are especially useful when the gamblers have suffered from heavy loses. If you ask them to wait [to use the service] until the office hours the next day, they may have other thoughts. But when they are in the most urgent need, gamblers will be determined [to quit gambling], and the kiosks will be very effective [in allowing them to seek help],” said Wai Hon, head of IAS’ department of prevention and treatment for drug dependence.
Mr Hon said that, through the machines, counselors from Sheng Kung Hui Macau can advise a gambler on how to stop gambling by applying for self-exclusion. “However, if the application has to wait until the next day and the procedure has to be completed in other departments, the gamblers may not want to go there anymore,” he said.
Between the end of July last year and January 31 this year, the kiosks installed in Macau casinos and community have recorded 3,645 log-ins; of these, 65.4 percent were made by Macau residents. There have also been 18 instances of self-exclusion applications being made through the kiosks. Around 80 percent of the applicants were willing to receive further counseling on gambling.
Meanwhile, Sheng Kung Hui revealed that between July 2014 and January this year, it has received 774 requests for assistance on gambling problems, including 593 cases of counseling over the phone and 181 via the Internet and mobile phone social applications.

Five junkets shuttered this year

The DICJ deputy director Leong Man Ion revealed on the sidelines of the kiosk opening ceremony that five junket operators have ceased to renew, or have surrendered, their licenses since the beginning of this year. He believes that the closure of junket operators is likely related to the state of the economy. He added that most of the closed operators were the smaller ones. “Maybe they will come back when the economy improves,” he said.
Leong also thought that even if there were junket operators closing down, it would not have a serious impact on the labor market, given the current manpower shortage in the city.
In terms of tobacco control in casinos, the deputy director said that both DICJ and the Health Bureau have not evaded their responsibility. He claimed that the two departments have always been in close contact.