The Social Welfare Bureau of Macau (IAS) has cited new data from a University of Macau survey which found that 30.1% of the adult Macau population participated in gambling activities in 2022, with 0.45% of that adult population said to suffer from a gambling disorder.
The data was contained in a research report titled, “A Study of Macao People’s Participation in Gambling Activities 2022” which noted that the 30.1% participation rate was 10.8 percentage points lower than the previous 40.9% rate found back in 2019.
The five most common betting activities engaged in by Macau residents were social gaming (15.6%), Mark Six lottery (13.0%), casino gaming (5.6%), slot machine parlor (3.0%) and soccer or basketball betting (2.5%).
Among the 2,033 respondents, a total of nine respondents were found to have a possible gambling disorder, accounting for 0.45% of the overall sample.
Speaking on Radio TDM on Wednesday, the Social Welfare Bureau’s Ms Wu I Mui said the number of people seeking help for gambling problems during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic had fallen to around 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
She added, “In the first half of this year, there were 19 cases of requests for assistance in respect of gambling disorders, and for the time being, no increase in the incidence of gambling disorders has been detected.”
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