By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The betting company, Mercury International, has launched a new campaign against underage gambling. The campaign will also advocate for responsible gambling, officials of the company said.
The campaign dubbed “Stay in Control” was launched at a press conference on Wednesday at the company’s branch office at Bathurst Street in Freetown.
Managing Director of Mercury International, Martin Michael, said at the occasion that Mercury International took responsible gambling “very seriously.”
As part of the new measures, the company says they would be retraining their staff and their retailers to discourage irresponsible gambling and underage gambling.
“Mercury International will be retraining staff and retailers to help them spot signs of problem gambling and act in a responsible manner to identify anyone below 18 years of age,” a statement issued by the company said.
To tighten controls, the company say they have already ordered retailers to ask for identification of gamblers who look under the age of 21.
Under the country’s laws, the legal adult age is 18.
Gambling is growing problem in most communities across the country, where Mercury International is the biggest gambling company, with several games attracting thousands of customers.
Michael said they recognized the responsibility that comes with the stature of their company and the popularity of their products to customers.
He called on people to come forward and complain about possible violations they may witness.
“We are encouraging people to come forward with evidence of underage children playing our products,” he said.
But whiles they attempt to strengthen measures at retail points, the challenge for the company will be online.
The company has an online betting platform. Michael said the website have features to make sure children don’t play and adults don’t get hooked up on the games.
“Only Mercury International has numerous online betting tools to help you Stay In Control, which includes loss, bet, time and deposit limits, as well as self-exclusion options,” the company’s statement adds.
Michael said they were also working with telecommunication operators like Orange and Africell to make sure children didn’t pay to access the platform.
In February, the company posted flex banners in all its offices in the capital, Freetown, reminding the public of the prohibition of children to access their offices.
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