Responsible gaming promoters have renewed calls for legislative intervention to tackle problem gambling on casino floors.
The calls came at the 3rd Asia Pacific Responsible Gaming Forum on Wednesday, a side event of the ongoing G2E Asia trade show.
Zhonglu Zeng, chairman of the Asia Pacific Association for Gambling Studies, said the government needed to take further action to keep problem gamblers away from the tables where they could spend “two or even three days without a break”.
“I suggest that those who are considered pathological and problem gamblers should be subject to legal intervention,” the academic said.
“We will then move on to the next stage of exploring what the legal standards for problem gambling should be.”
Another academic, Guojing Su of the Asian Responsible Gaming Alliance, on Wednesday urged the Macau government to look to existing practices in other jurisdictions in the city’s fight against problem gambling.
“Not all approaches are applicable in Macau, but we could evaluate their effectiveness with the help of experts,” he told panel participants. “The approach taken by Singapore is only to protect locals who already have a certain understanding of problem gambling.”
The pair told the panel that in an era where new forms of gambling are emerging, legislative updates are needed to extend the scope of protection to those from outside the city, particularly those from across the border.
“Protections for residents and casino workers are already relatively in place, but those for guests are nowhere to be seen,” Zeng agreed.
“The Macau government should take the initiative in pushing for this legislation. The casino operators will be less proactive when it comes to legislation like this.”
There needs to be “pressure from stakeholders to motivate companies”, Zeng stressed.
