A research study shows that the percentage of local residents who are gambling and of those who are affected by a gambling disorder has been “continuously declining” this year, according to a statement by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS).
The research was conducted by the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming (ISCG) of the University of Macau (UM), Friday’s statement said.
According to the statement, the study was conducted from May 18 to June 8. A total of 2,003 residents aged 18 or above participated in the telephone survey.
Based on the survey, 40.9 per cent of the respondents said that they participated in gambling activities over the past 12 months. In the same kind of survey conducted in 2016, 51.5 per cent said that they participated in gambling activities.
Among the 2,003 respondents, 16 showed signs of being affected by a gambling disorder, the statement said. Consequently, the number of residents affected by a gambling disorder fell from 2.50 per cent in 2016 to 0.8 per cent this year, the statement pointed out.
The statement noted that the local government has been implementing its policy of “responsible gambling” since 2009, when the gambling participation rate stood at 59.2 per cent and the number residents affected by a gambling disorder amounted to 6 per cent, according to the Macau Post Daily.
No sample numbers were given for previous surveys carried out on the subject.
The statement underlined that the ratios of residents’ gambling participation and of those suffering from a gambling disorder both reached their “new low points” this year, adding this showed that the government’s “responsible gambling” policy was on the right track.
The bureau has been commissioning the ISCG to conduct surveys on local residents’ participation in gambling activities on a periodical basis since 2007, the statement noted.
