Celebrating Responsible Gaming Education Week In Louisiana
The 14thannualResponsible Gaming Education Week(RGEW) was in full swing last week with casinos, manufacturers and other non-profit organizations are implementing creative ideas to educate their employees and patrons about the odds of casino games. To see some of the many activities that the RGEW participants did last week, you can view theAmerican Gaming Association’s (AGA) press release, as well as theirFacebookandTwitterfeeds.
The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is partnering with the AGA to help provide resources to many other organizations and continue promoting responsible gaming efforts through this blog, as well as ourFacebookandTwitteraccounts. The NCRG caught up with Reece Middleton, executive director for the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling, to see how he is celebrating RGEW this year. The Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for and/or providing cost effective quality assistance for all individuals in the State of Louisiana who may be affected by gambling problems.
NCRG:What has been one of the more exciting parts of your RGEW so far?
Middleton:At our open house and news conference on August 2, both Cedric B. Glover, mayor of Shreveport, and Lorenz Walker, mayor of Bossier City, issued a proclamation that this week is officially known as Responsible Gaming Education Week in our area. We were delighted that they could attend, as well as the many media outlets that were there to understand more about the education we hope to provide this week, as a continuation of our efforts to promote responsible gaming.
On August 1, we were excited to be on KSLA TV (CBS affiliate) in Shreveport, La. to talk about responsible gaming programs and how someone in the state could access free help if they were unable to gamble responsibly. We talked about the “Know the Odds” curriculum so that everyone could learn more about the odds of winning and losing when gambling. I’m sure we’ll be on the news more throughout the week talking about responsible gaming.
NCRG:What do you hope that the public will learn during this year’s RGEW?
Middleton:I think that “The House Advantage: A Guide to Understanding the Odds”, this year’s RGEW brochure, is a great tool for everyone to learn the facts and figures about the odds of casino games. Education is an important part of responsible gaming, and we’re including that information in all of our meetings and distributing it to area counselors.
We expect people to learn the many programs and brochures that can use as resources to better understand ways to gamble responsibly. We also want them to know that if a problem develops, as it sometimes does in a small percentage of players, there is help available at no charge. They can receive the information in various ways, whether it is through educational programs from the NCRG and the AGA or from the residential care facilities, intensive outpatient care programs and individual counseling we have available in Louisiana.
For more on RGEW or the many fun activities to help encourage everyone to “know the odds,” you can visit theNCRG’s websiteor theAGA’s RGEW page. Do you know of any great ways that responsible gaming is being promoted in your area? Please let us know in the comments below!
NCRG staffICRG NewseducationeventsgamblingLouisianaprogramsresponsible gamingResponsible Gaming Education Week
