Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING MARCH 2018 30 Inside Asian Gaming speaks with Davis Fong , Associate Professor in International Integrated Resort Management and Director of Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau’s Faculty of Business Administration, about the extent of gambling disorders in the Asian gaming hub and Macau’s responsible gaming initiatives. FEATURE IN FOCUS By Andrew W Scott PROBLEM SOLVING AWS: But not all people gamble, so if you look at it as a percentage of people that gamble, it will be a higher number. DF: In 2003, we found that 65% of people had gambled at least once in the previous 12 months. Using the same scales and measures, the number in 2016 was around 50%. So, based on that measure to consider people who actually get involved in gambling, you multiply the overall percentage by two. Taking into account that 2.5% to 2.6% of all people suffer from some level of gambling AndrewWScott: How prevalent is problem gambling in Macau? Davis Fong: We use a scale to calculate the prevalence of gambling disorders called DSM-V and from that scale we have found that around 2.5% to 2.6% of people suffer from one of the three different levels of gambling disorder. Using the old scale, the DSM-IV, the peak level was 6% in 2007 so if you look at this data I would say it’s pretty much under control. Even if you look back a little bit to 2003, the first year we conducted a prevalence study, at the time the level was 1.8% to 2.5%. That’s the percentage of all people aged 18 to 64.