Four Winds Casino offers services for gambling addiction

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. – Four Winds Casino is highlighting their services for national gambling awareness month.

The month of March has been dedicated to bringing light to an issue that almost two million Americans deal with, while another four-to-six million Americans show signs of problematic gambling.

This month marks 18 years of the grassroots campaign, which collaborates with the National Council on Problem Gambling.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has implemented mandatory employee training programs to help recognize these disorders at their casinos in New Buffalo, Hartford, Dowagiac and South Bend.

“We’re in the entertainment industry and we’re providing an entertainment prospect to our guests and we never want that entertainment prospect to negatively affect our guests. We’re serving the community, we live and work in these communities, and we want our folks to be healthy and thriving individuals,” said Raquel Buari, VP of Compliance at Four Winds Casinos.

Four Winds has also created brochures with local and national hotlines to help guests.

“We’re not clinicians, we can’t diagnose our guests so it’s really just a matter of us making sure that our employees are aware of what those signs are, that our guests have resources available and they know that there is help out there,” Buari said.

The Pokagon Band hopes to bring awareness to prevention, treatment and recovery services that are available to treat gambling addiction.