Debunking the myths
Province kicks off responsible gambling awareness week
Bob MacKinnon doesn’t expect everybody to quit gambling.
But he is hoping that the 93 per cent of adult Nova Scotians who do enjoy wagering money on games of chance will do so more responsibly.
As president and CEO of the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries and Casino Corp., MacKinnon knows a thing or two about gambling.
“Gambling is very much a part of our social fabric, he said, adding that for one per cent of the Nova Scotians who gamble, the activity is also problematic.
“The important thing is to keep it fun, to keep it balanced and not to spend your grocery money on gambling — if you are going to gamble, keep it in balance and do it as a part of all the things in your life.”
And educating and informing the public is the message at the heart of the province’s 15th annual Responsible Gambling Awareness Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 1).
According to MacKinnon, part of that campaign involves giving people the facts about the games they are playing.
“We’re working very hard to get the message out there about how important it is to keep gambling in balance, but we are also attempting to debunk the myths of gambling,” he said.
“For example, people might be playing on a slot machine or a VLT (video lottery terminal) and they might think that if it hasn’t hit for a long time that it will pay out at any minute, but it doesn’t work that way, the way it pays out is through a random number generator.”
MacKinnon also cautioned that for many people the problem starts when they start throwing too much money at a dream.
“Research has been done that shows that the dreaming about the money and what you might do with it is actually the fun part of the whole thing,” he said, adding a reminder that the odds of winning Lotto 649 are about one in 14 million.
He said gambling in Nova Scotia encompasses a wide variety of activities, including casino gaming, VLTs, lotteries, bingo, even-split tickets, sports betting, and, of course, Chase the Ace.
Meanwhile, an open house was held on Saturday at the Responsible Gambling Resource Centre at Casino Nova Scotia locations, including Sydney, where responsible gambling ambassadors were on hand to advise and answer questions.
“We’ve had people coming up all day,” said the centre’s John MacDonald, who was kept busy chatting with casinogoers, handing out information pamphlets and giving lessons on the workings of the various games.
A second open house will be held at the resource centre on Saturday, however the site in the casino foyer is staffed from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week.