The Macau government is set to put down in writing, informal requests made earlier to the city’s gaming operators to create their own teams to handle problem gambling at their properties. The news was confirmed by an official source to Portuguese news agency Lusa. “Gaming concessionaires must promote responsible gambling in order for gambling to be seen as an entertainment and to avoid, as much as possible, problems for the local society,” the official source said. The Social Welfare Bureau told Lusa it has so far this year received 30 new requests for help and counselling from problem gamblers. Since 2005, the bureau has handled close to 560 cases of problem gamblers, of which 52 were recorded last year.
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