Mariela Huenchumilla to drive responsible gambling debate at Juegos Miami

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Improving the public image of gaming and the use of tax revenues to fund social programs will be two of the key topics debated on day two of the Learning Program taking place at Juegos Miami (31 May – 2 June, The Biltmore, Miami). The gaming business event, which has been created to meet the specific needs of the Pan Latin American and Caribbean gaming industry, Juegos Miami has attracted a raft of industry experts and thought leaders, including Mariela Huenchumilla, Corporate Head of Responsible Gaming at Sun Dreams, who will open the stream entitled Responsible Gambling and Gaming's Public Image with a session on The Responsible Gaming Venn Diagram.

Layla Ali, who has played a major role in creating the Juegos Miami learning agenda following a thorough program of research and consultation, said, "Responsible gaming is a huge issue in any market, but particularly so in LatAm, where the public perception is based on a stereotypical narrative. It is important for regulators and operators to establish who is in charge of implementing responsible gaming policies and what kind of initiatives should be included."

She added, "During my research, the Canadian approach to player protection was brought up and we will be including a Canadian case study dealing with issues such as: how to recognize negative gambling behavior; understanding the boundaries of intervention, and the possibility of incorporating alerts, deposit limits and pauses into game development."

The benefits of gaming giving back to the nation state will be explored using the example of Colombia, where gaming taxes are used to pay for social welfare. The stream will examine how the model works, discuss the value of creating a positive association between gaming and social causes and debate whether such a model should, or could be, extended throughout the LatAm region.

Described by Dr. Javier Balbuena, Presidente, CONAJZAR, as "a brilliant place to bring the key people together from the industry," Juegos Miami is an invitation-only event and, in order to guarantee the best networking and learning opportunities, attendance is limited to senior decision makers (owners, directors and C-Level executives) from operating companies, as well as government and regulators from the Latin America and Caribbean region.