Las Vegas Sands Corp has commenced a worldwide scheme to promote responsible gaming and to counter money laundering and human trafficking. The United States-based casino operator announced the Project Protect scheme on Monday, calling it a “comprehensive global initiative”. The announcement by Las Vegas Sands said Project Protect introduced comprehensive training for staff that allowed them to go beyond legal compliance and existing industry standards to foster responsible gaming, combat money laundering and human trafficking. Project Protect aimed to formalise the firm’s policies and procedures for promoting responsible gaming and countering money laundering and human trafficking, it said.
“Our goal is zero tolerance for negative or harmful activity in our properties to safeguard our guests, our team members and the communities where we operate,” the statement quoted Las Vegas Sands executive vice-president and global general counsel Lon Jacobs as saying. He added: “Our commitment to adhering to government and industry regulations has never wavered, but Project Protect takes a major step toward prevention and elimination of these issues at our properties by providing the right tools and education for our team members to identify problems and act swiftly and responsibly.”
GGRAsia asked Las Vegas Sands senior vice-president of global communications and corporate affairs Ron Reese to clarify if the new scheme would apply to casino operations in Macau and Singapore. “The policies, procedures and team-member training can vary from market to market, based on local regulations etcetera, but the company’s commitment to these issues is global and a part of our culture,” he told GGRAsia in an email. “The programme itself is meant to highlight and provide a platform from which Sands can take a role as an industry leader in these areas,” he added.
Las Vegas Sands is a majority owner in Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd. The firm also operates – via a subsidiary – casino resort Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Project Protect’s training will span the company’s current responsible gaming schemes, while adding new curriculum to educate team members on global and regional money laundering and human trafficking threats. Elsewhere, Las Vegas Sands has shown a renewed focus on staff education. In Macau, Sands China on Sunday announced a large-scale awareness campaign on workplace respect, to “help team members recognise and prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace”.
At Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino resort, the firm is permitting its 9,700 full-time staff members two days paid leave from work to study language, communication, service excellence and information technology.
