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Source: Responsible
Gambling Council (Ontario)
The Canadian Foundation On Compulsive Gambling (Ontario) changes its name to Responsible Gambling Council (Ontario) Quebec, Ontario
The Council
has adopted this new name to reflect a gradual change in role and services
that began some time ago. In recent years the Council has been able to
expand its emphasis on preventing gambling related problems through the
establishment of several new awareness and information programs.
The term
“responsible gambling” reflects that focus on prevention and our intention
to redouble our efforts to address problem gambling from a public health
perspective. About a year ago the Council unanimously approved a new mission
statement that foreshadowed this name change. The Council mission is “to
help individuals and communities address gambling in a healthy and responsible
way.”
As the
mission implies, the Council will work to ensure that people who gamble
do so safely, avoiding potential problems. We will do this through three
core activities: public awareness, information and research. We are committed
to the design and delivery of awareness programs that help people avoid
gambling problems and that let people know help is available if they have
a problem. On the information side, we will continue to gather current
and timely information and to make it readily available through our website,
e-library and publications. Research is not new to the Council. But, in
the past year we have invested in the shift from individual research projects
to a multi-year program of investigation of several critical research questions.
The adoption
of the term “responsible gambling” implies even more than the delivery
of programs. It also signifies a commitment to enhancing our collective
understanding of the policies and practices that keep people on the safe
side of the gambling line. The Council, will contribute to ‘raising the
bar’ about what constitutes responsible gambling.
As is
the past, the Council places great value on working in partnership with
those who share our commitment to reducing the risk of excessive gambling.
We have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy very productive relationships
with treatment providers and researchers, public servants, gaming providers
and people who have struggled with problem and compulsive gambling first
hand.
We look
forward with great enthusiasm to continuing our shared vision of healthy
communities and families – free from the devastation that inevitably
follows when gambling gets out of control.
Richard K. Hubbard
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