Macau casino concessionaire Sands China Ltd has launched a “Responsible Gaming Youth Talent Development Programme” aimed at students at the University of Macau (UM). The company describes it as its first responsible gaming education effort to link simultaneously the industry, academia and the community.
The initiative, established under the company’s Responsible Gaming Academy, brought together Sands China, UM’s Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming (ISCG), and the Youth Volunteers Association of Macau. Sands China is a unit of U.S.-based Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Sands China said in a recent press release that the programme was designed to strengthen students’ understanding of responsible gaming while developing practical skills and international exposure.
According to Sands China, about 150 students expressed interest in joining the programme. Following a selection process, 32 participants advanced to the first training phase, working in teams to develop proposals promoting responsible gaming through schools, communities, social media, digital tools and financial education.
The highest-performing participants joined a 23-member delegation that travelled to Singapore from May 31 to June 3. The study tour included visits to the Marina Bay Sands casino complex, run by a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands. The delegation also visited Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling and the WE CARE Community Services.
The visit gave students exposure to Singapore’s responsible gaming framework, public education initiatives and customer support systems, per the announcement.
Sands China executive vice chairman Wilfred Wong Ying Wai said the programme supported the Macau government’s responsible gaming objectives while helping to cultivate local talent for the city’s integrated tourism and leisure sector.
“We hope these young programme participants will share what they have learned with their schools and communities, and use their positive influence to help promote the message of responsible gaming,” Mr Wong stated.
The update cited Professor Davis Fong, director of the ISCG, as saying: “This Singapore study tour offered students an invaluable opportunity to bridge theory and practice. Observing the live operations of two integrated resorts and experiencing how responsible gaming initiatives work in the real world gave students profound insights that far exceed classroom teaching.”
Sands China noted it has promoted responsible gaming initiatives since introducing a self-exclusion programme in 2004 and incorporating responsible gaming into staff orientation in 2007. In November last year, it established the Responsible Gaming Academy, and it continues to jointly operate the RG360 Macau Responsible Gaming Specialist Ambassador Course with UM.
