Maltco Lotteries presented an annual contribution of €50,000 to the Responsible Gaming Foundation (RGF) to step up against gambling addiction, according to a press release by the government’s Department of Information (DOI).
During the presentation of the contribution, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri referred to the inquiry on the consumption of gambling and gaming services by Maltese residents published at the end of last year by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). Mr Schembri explained that people who engage in gambling are most likely to be young adults or senior citizens and have a secondary level of education, likely to be unemployed, part-time employees or students.
“This is where the work of the foundation comes in by carrying out educational campaigns among the younger generations to instil among them the importance of achieving balance and to actively seek alternatives,” said Mr Schembri underlining how the foundation tends to reach out by means of sports activities amongst other initiatives.
In addition, the RGF has strengthened the self-exclusion processes under the supervision of the MGA. In the meantime, a call centre started to work on a 24-hour schedule, together with the much-needed website and chatline revamp, in order to provide a more user-friendly and eye-catching look at all the services offered, according to the press statement.
“Throughout our daily operations, Maltco strictly adopts responsible gaming principles since we truly believe in having the players’ wellbeing at heart. We want to ensure that our players are entertaining themselves in a responsible manner,” said Vasileios Kasiotakis, CEO of Maltco Lotteries Limited.
Moreover, Mr Kasiotakis also thanked all the stakeholders, agents and assistants for their significant contribution.
Shawn Zammit, General Manager of the RGF, expressed satisfaction with the investment that has been made in the call centre 1777, by which the foundation continues to offer a better free helping hand to those afflicted by the addiction. The Responsible Gaming Foundation started operating the National Gambling Helpline 1777 in September 2015.