Galaxy Entertainment Group’s (GEG) Responsible Gaming Team embarked on a tour of several social service establishments in Macau and Hong Kong last week, becoming the first gaming operator group to visit Associação de Juventude Voluntária de Macau (AJVM) at its new service center in Seac Pai Van as well as three rehabilitation centers under the Hong Kong Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGH).
In a press statement, GEG said that the tour was designed to broaden the team members’ understanding of the latest treatment approaches to gambling disorder.
Led by AJVM Director Fion Lao, the group of around 20 team members was familiarized with the Responsible Gambling Information Kiosk and other facilities inside AJVM’s new service center. The center opened to the public in February with on-site counseling services to tackle gambling addiction.
AJVM volunteers discussed the adverse effects of gambling disorder and introduced the team members to the center’s services for casino workers. Founded in 1993, AJVM aims to encourage young people to participate in volunteer work and serve the community through collaboration with various organizations. Since 2014, AJVM has been assisting GEG in promoting responsible gaming activities and volunteer programs for its team members, with approximately 6,300 GEG team members having taken part in these activities.
After the visit to AJVM’s center, the Responsible Gaming Team paid a visit to the TWGH’s three rehabilitation centers in Hong Kong, namely the Even Centre, the Integrated Centre on Addiction Prevention and Treatment and the Healthy Budgeting Family Debt Counseling Centre. The objective of the trip was for the team members to acquire an understanding of how these social service centers address individuals struggling with substance abuse, pathological gambling and financial problems.
The Even Centre provides counseling and treatment services exclusively for people diagnosed with gambling disorder and their family members. Its Supervisor, Daphne Yeung, shared with the GEG representatives her insights into handling gambling disorder cases. GEG and TWGHs’ representatives exchanged views on the work undertaken by social service institutions in Hong Kong and Macau with respect to responsible gaming.