Cases of problem gambling are likely to get worse as the city’s gaming sector shifts its focus from the high-rolling market to the mass market where gamblers place smaller bets but in a continuous manner that can deteriorate into an addiction, experts in responsible gambling said yesterday.

Davis Fung Ka Chio, an associate professor in Hospitality and Gaming Management at University of Macau (UM), and Bo Bernhard, executive director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute from Las Vegas, together with counsellors from social service provider Sheng Kung Hui (SKH), conducted a two-day training course for Sands China casino staff about crisis management and intervention skills. The course, which was held at the Venetian, ended yesterday. 

Fung told reporters prior to the course graduation ceremony that while the rate of the local population affected by gambling disorders was quite low, at around 0.9 to 1.3 percent, casino operators still needed to continue educating their front-line staff about responsible gambling as they were among the population segment with a high risk of becoming addicted to gambling. 

Gaming managers, security managers and human resources trainers from Sands China re-enact a scene involving a problem gambler during a responsible gambling training programme at the Venetian yesterday. Photos: Monica Leong

UM Associate Professor in Hospitality and Gaming Management Davis Fung Ka Chio meets reporters prior to Sands China’s responsible gambling training programme’s graduation ceremony at the Venetian yesterday. 

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