Since the AGA first launched Responsible Gaming Education Week, the industry has continued to underscore its commitment to responsible gaming. Here is a look at just some of the highlights from those weeks.
1998
Responsible Gaming Education Week debuts; the AGA, with slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology (IGT), distributes more than 200,000 responsible gaming brochures to casino employees nationwide; the AGA partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to develop materials to raise awareness about unattended minors in casinos.
1999
The AGA unveils the PROGRESS Kit, a multimedia employee training tool kit covering responsible gaming as well as underage and disordered gambling prevention; since then, the AGA has distributed hundreds of kits worldwide.
2000
Hundreds of gaming employees, treatment providers, regulators and others gather at more than 15 sites nationwide to watch a live one-hour broadcast “Responsible Gaming: Keeping it Fun,” a show produced by the AGA to increase employee awareness of disordered gambling and responsible gaming.
2001
The AGA introduces “Understanding the Odds: A Key to Responsible Gaming,” a video based on a curriculum developed by Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addictions focusing on probability in gambling and everyday life.
2002
Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW) activities take to the Internet, with the launch of “Log on to Learn,” the AGA’s first interactive quiz to test employee and public awareness of responsible gaming and disordered gambling; more than 800 people logon to take the quiz during RGEW.
2003
The AGA updates and reissues its flagship responsible gaming brochure, “Keeping It Fun: A Guide to Responsible Gaming,” and more than 83,000 pamphlets are distributed to 66 casino properties in 12 states.
2004
Responsible Gaming Education Week serves as the unofficial countdown to the final implementation date of the AGA’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming, a pledge to customers, employees and the public to make responsible gaming an integral part of operations industrywide.
2005
The AGA unveils the “Banding Together” wristband campaign, distributing more than 130,000 orange “Keep it Fun” wristbands to gaming employees and customers nationwide; selling the bands for $1 apiece, the AGA donates proceeds to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, a national organization that funds research on gambling disorders.
2006
The AGA encourages employees to get educated about responsible gaming, creating a new activity workbook that features a preview of the new EMERGE employee training program. The AGA also translates all of its responsible gaming materials into Spanish.
2007
The AGA sponsors a national employee responsible gaming poster and essay contest to celebrate the 10th anniversary of RGEW, showcasing the winning entries throughout the week and beyond.
2008
The AGA and the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) collaborate to release “Talking with Children about Gambling,” a brochure designed to help parents, teachers and others involved with youth deter children from gambling and recognize possible warning signs of problem gambling and other risky behaviors.
2009
Responsible Gaming Education Week focuses on the provisions of the AGA Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming on the fifth anniversary of its first implementation. The AGA develops activity ideas for each day of the week focusing on a different section of the Code; through the activities employees gain a better understanding of how responsible gaming is integrated into every aspect of their organization’s operations.
2010
In conjunction with RGEW 2010, the AGA releases the new brochure, “Taking the Mystery Out of the Machine,” to pull back the curtain on how slot machines are developed, regulated and operated and debunk commonly held myths about America’s favorite casino game.