Mercury International Launches ‘Responsible Gaming Campaign’

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In order to enhance responsible gaming in the country and to raise awareness to prevent children under the age of eighteen from betting, Mercury International has on Wednesday 11^th March, 2020 launched the #StayInControl Responsible Gaming Campaign at their Bathurst Street Office in Freetown.

Speaking during the launch, General Manager of Mercury International, Martin Michael, disclosed that Mercury International is proud to launch the #StayInControl campaign, adding that as an established brand in Sierra Leone that is proud of the work they are doing in communities through the rolling out of its corporate social responsibility the institution takes Responsible Gaming very seriously.

He said that only Mercury International has numerous online betting tools to help its customers ‘Stay In Control’, which include loss, bet, time and deposits limits, as well as self-exclusion options whiles other online firms require someone to contact them before having time-out, but said with Mercury International’s www.mercurybet.com  such allows its customers to do it immediately and manually.

He further disclosed that the Stay In Control campaign sends a clear message; gaming is for those over 18 years of age only and should only be used socially by adults maintaining that Mercury encourages its customers to use their designated tools to keep track of their gaming.

“Responsible Gaming is extremely important to us, which is highlighted by the fact that we lead the industry with protective limits and tools on our website. However, we believe there is more to be done to remind people of what gaming is for. It should be a social experience and one to enjoy,” he stressed.

He said that gaming should never be considered as a source of income, and the Stay in Control Campaign shows this while giving people useful information if they feel they need support.

He noted that as part of the campaign, Mercury International will be training staff and retailers to help them spot signs of problem gaming and act in a responsible manner and to identify anyone below 18 years of age, adding that Mercury staff and retailers will be trained and instructed to ask for identification from any person that seems to be under the age of 21 years old.