New Campaign Promotes Responsible Gaming Awareness

This week, casino companies nationwide will be joining together as they sponsor the eighth annual Responsible Gaming Education Week from August 1-5, 2005. The centerpiece of the campaign, organized by the American Gaming Association ("AGA"), will be the launch of a national responsible gaming awareness wristband campaign.

The theme of the week is "We're Banding Together to Keep it Fun," which links all gaming stakeholders - operators, manufacturers, employees, gaming customers, regulators, legislators, treatment professionals and others - in a joint effort to promote responsible gaming.

The bright orange wristbands, displaying the message "Keep it Fun," are available in both English and Spanish, individually packaged, and accompanied by a card explaining the "Keep it Fun" message, the importance of promoting responsible gaming, and how to get more information.

In addition to distributing the wristbands to employees, many casinos will also will be selling the wristbands at their retail establishments. This retail element of the "Keep it Fun" campaign is a significant effort to broaden the scope of the campaign's activities to include more gaming customers and expand the public's awareness of the importance of responsible gaming. All proceeds from the sale of "Keep it Fun" wristbands will be donated to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, the only national organization devoted exclusively to public education about and funding of peer-reviewed research on disordered gambling.

In addition to the "Keep it Fun" wristbands, employees will be given buttons, stickers, and ribbons to wear throughout Responsible Gaming Education Week, prompting customers to ask about the industry's role in the "Banding Together to Keep it Fun" campaign. Copies of important responsible gaming educational materials, including "Keeping it Fun: A Guide to Responsible Gaming," will be on display and available to customers throughout many U.S. casinos.

"Keep it Fun" wristbands are available to the public for $1 each, with a minimum order of 10 wristbands, through the AGA website at the Responsible Gaming Education Week website button.

Responsible Gaming Education Week was developed in 1998 by the AGA, gaming industry's trade group. The event is designed to heighten awareness of responsible gaming and disordered gambling among employees, patrons, and the general public. This year, the AGA is introducing the "Keep it Fun" awareness wristbands to further involve all gaming stakeholders in a universal effort to demonstrate support for increased awareness of responsible gaming issues.

Responsible Gaming Education Week is part of the Responsible Gaming National Education Campaign, a long-term, comprehensive program spearheaded by the AGA.

The AGA should be congratulated for its efforts to bring attention to the issue of Responsible Gaming. The AGA has been extremely helpful in assisting to better understand the issue. The National Center for Responsible Gaming, which will receive donations made during Responsible Gaming Education Week, was created in 1996 as the only national organization devoted exclusively to public education about and funding of peer-reviewed research on disordered gambling. To date, the casino industry and related businesses have committed more than $13 million to this effort, and the National Center has issued more than $8 million in support of groundbreaking research on gambling disorders.

You can learn more about the National Center for Responsible Gaming at http://www.ncrg.org.