La Fleur’s magazine has recognized the Michigan Lottery with the publication’s inaugural Sustainability Award for its leadership in responsible gaming. The award was announced recently at the La Fleur’s 2015 Global Lottery Forum. In all, eight lotteries from around the world received Sustainability awards in the areas of responsible gaming, corporate social responsibility, and the environment.
“The Michigan Lottery incorporated advanced responsible gaming tools into its online sales program. For example, the lottery’s responsible wagering program sets reasonable limits on the amount its players can deposit in a given week,” said Terri Markle, publisher of La Fleur’s Magazine. “It is the first U.S. lottery to pursue the National Council on Problem Gambling’s iCAP Internet Responsible Gambling Assessment Program. The Michigan Lottery also helped the state’s Problem Gambling help line develop a text and chat platform to expand the safety net for lottery players.”
Each year, the Lottery provides the Michigan Department of Community Health with $1 million to fund statewide education and treatment programs for problem gambling. That includes a toll-free help line that is available 24 hours a day: 800-270-7117. The Lottery recently enhanced the assistance services available in Michigan by teaming up with the Health Management Systems of America to provide options for live online chat, and texts, at 248-648-3363.
In addition to these programs and services, the Lottery’s online games service features responsible gaming safeguards, such as limits on player deposits and allowing players to exclude themselves from online games.
The Michigan Lottery also is a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Michigan Association on Problem Gambling.
La Fleur’s Sustainability Awards recognize lottery organizations worldwide that achieved outstanding results in the area of Responsible Gaming, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Environmental Initiatives. The awards were established this year by TLF Publications, Inc. Founded in 1991, TLF Publications has been an independent resource for the global lottery industry.
