1480 – Responsible Gambling Council
Please find enclosed a note I received from Ms. Shelley White (CEO) of the Responsible Gambling Council on the progress they are making within the scope of Responsible Play. If you would like further information on the full report, please go the web site indicated below.
I am very pleased to share with you the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) 2017-2018 Annual Report which is now available on our website at www.responsiblegambling.org.
Our theme for the 2017-18 report is “A Year of Impact”. It truly has been a year of tremendous change and great impacts in both the responsible gambling sector and at RGC as well. A new CEO, two new Directors and some organizational restructuring all enabled RGC to prepare for the changes that are occurring in how and where gambling is being provided. Our focus in 2017- 18 was to continue to deliver strong, impactful work that drives positive change both in the industry and in the lives of players.
Please take a minute to read through our Annual Report. In it, you’ll learn about some of our highlights from the year:
PlaySmart Centres
- In June 2017, 31 locations were converted from Responsible Gambling Resource Centres to PlaySmart Centres. Aligning the Centres to the overall PlaySmart brand made a big impression on players who now feel more engaged and open to visiting the centres.
- 327,000 players accessed one of the 56 PlaySmart Centres across Ontario for facts, tools or advice. 4,872 players expressed concern about their own play and received immediate assistance at the Centres. Engaging in this many discussions with players requires a highly skilled staff. Did you know it takes 12 months of ongoing training and development for staff to meet program and regulatory requirements? We are incredibly proud of our PlaySmart Centre staff and the impact they make every day.
RGC Programs
- Game Brain presented 30 performances to more than 8,400 students from grade 9-12 in schools across Ontario. For the first time Game Brain visited Grassy Narrows First Nation an Ojibwa First Nation. Through Facebook and Instagram the program received 203,000 post engagements. To date Game Brain has reached over 30,000 students in 94 schools across Ontario. That’s 30,000 students who are now prepared to make more informed decisions.
- Know The Score was delivered to 29 campuses in Ontario. As part of an update to the program, a new responsible gambling quiz was launched which resulted in 7,228 quiz entries online with an additional 12,221 submitted in person.
- Problem Gambling Prevention Week received 61.1 million media impressions which was 75% more than planned and over 7,000 face-to-face interactions.
RG Check
- 2017-2018 we conducted 13 accreditations across Canada including one new international venue: Marina Bay Sands. And we have established one new contract with a major gaming service provider in Australia that will begin in 2018-19.
Those were just a few of the initiatives that were implemented in 2017-18 and that will continue to roll-out in 2018-19. We are grateful to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for their continued support of the Responsible Gambling Council. We would also like to thank all our partners and the Board of Directors for helping us continue to stay deeply committed to our vision “a world free of problem gambling”. |
