Responsible Gambling Awareness Week

Responsible Gambling Awareness Week 2007
September 30 - October 6

September 30 to October 6 marked the sixth annual Responsible Gambling Awareness Week (RGAW) in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSGC) launched RGAW in 2002, with the goals of increasing public awareness about the risks of gambling and providing players with the information they need to make informed decisions that foster responsible gambling behaviour.

Each year, the events of RGAW are targeted at specific communities across the Province. In 2007, the target communities were:

Halifax Regional Municipality
Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Amherst
Kentville
Antigonish
Yarmouth

Several events were incorporated into the Week, including the following:

Nova Scotia's Responsible Gambling Conference was held on October 1st and 2nd. The goal of the Conference was to inspire, stimulate and educate through hot topics, innovative presentation formats and rich discussion. 263 people attended this two-day event.
Interactive Community Education Displays were set up in shopping malls in Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton Municipality, Amherst, Kentville, Antigonish and Yarmouth. These displays provided the public with an opportunity to use NSGC's new responsible gambling self-assessment quiz and learn important information about what responsible gambling behavior looks like. 589 people visited the display.
All video and ticket lottery locations in the six target communities received responsible gambling materials as part of the Player Information Program.
Community Consultation Sessions were held in Amherst, Antigonish and Kentville. These sessions allowed NSGC's President and CEO to engage in open discussion with 18 community leaders and hear their opinions about gambling in Nova Scotia.
An open house took place at the Responsible Gambling Resource Centres in both Casino Nova Scotia locations, Halifax and Sydney, providing casino patrons the opportunity to learn more about responsible gambling and the services of the Centres.
A Province-wide awareness campaign about what it means to gamble responsibly was launched.