Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri was presented with a €50,000 annual contribution from Maltco Lotteries toward the Responsible Gaming Foundation yesterday.
During the presentation, 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.
He explained that through the inquiry it has transpired that persons 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 amongst the younger generations to instil amongst them the importance of achieving balance and to actively seek alternatives,” Schembri said while adding that the Foundation tends to reach out by means of sports activities amongst other initiatives.
He thanked Maltco Lotteries for always supporting these initiatives and for their help in the implementation of social programs launched by the Foundation.
Shawn Zammit, General Manager of The Responsible Gaming Foundation, 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. Under the supervision of the MGA, the RGF has strengthened the self-exclusion processes. In the meantime, the 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.
Maltco CEO Vasileios Kasiotakis added, “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.”
On behalf of Maltco Lotteries, Kasiotakis also thanked all stakeholders, agents and assistants for their significant contribution.