The Gaming Department of Portugal’s largest charitable organisation, Santa Casa da Misericórdia, has launched a campaign on Responsible Gaming to warn people that gambling is only for people over 18 and that adults should be responsible when faced with a startling array of scratch cards and lottery tickets in sales outlets.
Santa Casa receives profits from the public’s purchases of tickets and scratch cards and is uses some of that money to promote responsible and moderate gaming habits - with the rest of its gaming profit used to run itself and fund its charitable works.
The Catholic lay brotherhood founded in 1498 is keen to promote moderation in Portuguese society and wants make sure that public order is preserved, that family values are preserved and that illegal fraud and money laundering related to gambling are prevented yet needs people to spend money or its profits will dry up.
Pedro Santana Lopes from Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Lisbon said that the charity is conscious of the role that Jogos Santa Casa has in Portuguese society as a game operator responsible for excellence in the gambling market, so it was considered that this is the crucial time for the launch of this new campaign to raise awareness with particular emphasis on the issue of underage gaming.
But the charity still wants people to spend their money on its games so has come up with the message that a bet on a Santa Casa game is a good bet but also a responsible bet.
This then is the new campaign strap line, "A responsible bet" which will be promoted in a multi-media campaign in the lead up to Euro 2016.
