More problem gamblers request bans from Macau’s casinos as gaming hub vows to tackle addiction
Move follows ban on off-duty employees going on casino floor but figures are still drop in ocean compared with overall visitor numbers
Growing numbers of problem gamblers have asked to be banned from Macau casinos to cure their addiction, new data has revealed.
Figures released this week by the city’s Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau – better known by its Portuguese initials DICJ – revealed 233 people filed formal requests to be excluded from casinos in the first six months of this year, 54 more than in the same period of 2017.
The figures came after lawmakers in the world’s most cash-rich gaming destination passed a law last Thursday banning casino employees from entering the floors when off duty.
While officials hailed the data and employee ban as marks of the work they were doing to tackle problem and pathological gambling, the figures represented a tiny drop in the ocean when put in context of overall visitor numbers.
An eye-watering 32.6 million people visited Macau in 2017 and, in a city which would struggle to exist without the gaming dollar, the bulk spent most of their time at the bustling baccarat tables.
From the latest figures, 200 – or 85.5 per cent – of the requests were “self-exclusion” demands, while the remainder were submitted by third parties.
