Casinos In Macau Research Articles

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gambling Behavior in Mainland Chinese Gamblers in Macau: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

This study examined the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gambling behavior of individuals who were already actively engaged in such pursuits. We aimed to uncover the intricate consequences of the pandemic on this specific demographic, emphasizing the importance of understanding the complex connection between public health concerns such as the COVID-19 pandemic and gambling behavior from a public health perspective. In addition to identifying immediate impacts, this study holds significance in assessing potential long-term public health implications for the broader gambling industry. This study investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the gambling behavior of Mainland Chinese tourists in Macau from a public health perspective. We aimed to understand the changing patterns of gambling habits within this specific demographic by comparing their behavior before and during the pandemic, with a particular emphasis on the evolving dynamics of gambling and their public health consequences. This study provides a detailed exploration of the impact and implications of global health emergencies on this particular demographic's gambling behaviors and preferences. This study used a robust cross-sectional analysis involving a sample of 334 Mainland Chinese gamblers with prior experiences in casinos in Macau. The sample deliberately encompassed individuals involved in gambling before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through carefully designed questionnaires to gather information on gambling habits, preferences, and observed behavioral changes in the sample. This study unveiled a notable shift in Mainland Chinese gamblers' behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. A considerable number of participants opted for web-based platforms over traditional land-based casinos, resulting in reduced budgets, less time spent on gambling, and decreased participation in social gambling. Remarkably, there was a notable surge in online gambling, indicating a noteworthy adaptability of gamblers to changing circumstances. These findings emphasize the dynamic nature of gambling habits during global public health emergencies, revealing the resilient and evolving preferences of Mainland Chinese gamblers in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic. This study highlights the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on casino gambling, notably evident in a significant decline in Mainland Chinese tourists visiting Macau for gambling. There is a noticeable shift from traditional gambling to web-based alternatives, with individuals seeking options within the pandemic constraints. Furthermore, the findings point out an increase in gambling among the younger generation and behavioral changes in individuals with mood disorders. The findings of this study emphasize the critical need for proactive measures to address evolving gambling preferences and associated risks during public health crises; furthermore, these findings underscore the importance of adaptive strategies within the gambling industry, as well as the necessity for effective public health interventions and regulatory frameworks to respond to unprecedented challenges with efficacy and precision.

Efficiency-oriented training and development based on service process observation and assessment in the workplace

PurposeThis paper aims to establish a service efficiency-oriented framework for training design and evaluation as a pivotal service procedure in the workplace to fill the gap between training and organizational performance in a service context.Design/methodology/approachA semi-structured interview was first employed to confirm the primary indicator for training programs and criteria design as the pivotal factor for operational efficiency. An observation experiment was subsequently conducted to reveal that the training program can be redesigned according to the concrete operation effects and influencing factors for operational efficiency in the workplace.FindingsThe proposed service efficiency-oriented training model is suggested to underline and guide the activities for training requirements, training methods, training criteria and training evaluation for the service sector. Training auditing, analyzing and redesigning based on service efficiency could help to integrate service efficiency so that service organizations can readjust their specific training needs and concise the training program in the human resource management practice.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only conducted an on-site observational experiment on one of the casinos in Macau. An observational method assessed the conceptual model in the context of table game operations. More quantitative approaches like AI-assisted systems may be employed in the future. The representativeness of the sample is somewhat limited. In addition, the service efficiency-oriented training concept model is an open system that any organization could extend by incorporating more elements in each part that can be developed to meet their human resource management needs. Finally, other service-oriented organizations like airlines and banks can learn from the theoretical model proposed in this article. It is suggested that non-profit organizations would be a better research area.Practical implicationsThe finding can provide organizations and practitioners with insights and tools on how to provide and evaluate service efficiency and assess employee performance.Social implicationsThe proposed service efficiency-oriented training model provides a theoretical foundation for training and organizational performance for service organizations.Originality/valueThis study is the first to develop a service efficiency-oriented training framework with training needs, methods, criteria and evaluation. A service industry sample was used to verify the framework in the context of casino game pace and dealer training for table games. Suggestions for a combination of management are provided for casino operators to redesign and evaluate the dealer training program for service improvement.

Do Young Employees Satisfy Their Job Under Work Stress and Work-Family Conflict? Evidence from Resorts in Macau

Young employees currently face vast work stress in their careers triggering conflict between work and family. This paper target to examine how work-family conflict affects job satisfaction and turnover intentions through work stress for younger employees. 450 questionnaires were collected from young dealers who work at six casinos in Macau. The findings show that work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC) positively affect work stress and turnover intention, but do not directly influence job satisfaction. Work stress negatively affected job satisfaction and positively affected turnover intention, fully negatively mediated WFC and FWC towards job satisfaction, and part positive mediated WFC and FWC towards turnover intention. Work stress can directly influence turnover intention, and job satisfaction partially mediated work stress toward turnover intention. Finally, WFC and FWC will affect turnover intention through work stress on job satisfaction. We also proposed suggestions to improve job satisfaction for young dealers in casino management.

Occupational crimes in casinos: employee theft in Macau, China.

It is virtually impossible to accurately measure employee theft across the casino industry using official statistics. In this paper, we use the self-report method for measuring crime to (a) estimate the prevalence, incidence, seriousness, and versatility of occupational offending in casinos in Macau, China—the largest casino gambling location in the world; and (b) identify characteristics which correlate with that offending. One in seven employees in our sample (14%; 38 out of 281) reported engaging in at least one of six offenses (theft in the workplace, falsification of documents, computer fraud, bribe offering, bribe accepting, and white-collar exploitation) in the 12 months prior to their survey response. The great majority of active offenders specialized in crime type: 61% of the active offenders in our sample (23 out of 38) committed just one of the six occupational crimes. Criminal “specialization” notwithstanding, offenders committed their crimes relatively frequently; occupational crimes were particularly costly to casinos in the long run; and these offenses varied in their severity and extent depending on crime type. Demographic characteristics of casino employees—in particular, male gender, occupational position, work schedule, and work-related experience—were associated with whether an employee engaged in workplace crime. Regarding psychological and lifestyle characteristics of employees, only financial pressure and gambling behavior were significantly related to occupational offending. Given that casinos are subject to high levels of surveillance relative to other places of employment, criminal motivation, and not just opportunity, could matter in terms of crimes committed by workers in the gaming industry.

The application of digital technology in gambling industry

PurposeThe study aims to integrate the insights gained from the gambling industry into a value creation conceptual framework for analyzing the influence of digital technology application. Both primary and secondary data from industry practitioners are examined and discussed.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews covering top management from six major casinos in Macau were conducted with industry experts, who provided the pioneering feedback on digitalization technology implemented with examples from major casino cities, including Macau, Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Singapore, Seoul and some others.FindingsThe study provides an overview of the current status of the application of digital technology in the gambling industry and the level of the feasibility, practicability and profitability of this development on the casino floor. Digital technologies are found to augment the gambling industry in aspects of the product, service and operational structure. Research also discovers that benefits and values gained by the casino can be categorized in three dimensions: (1) value perceived by the customer, (2) value obtained from the customer and (3) value gained by the firm.Originality/valueThe research serves as a reference for Macau policymakers regarding regulations on emerging digital technologies in the gambling industry, as well as for casino management seeking to understand new potential business opportunities and future developments in digitalization.

Linking internal service quality and casino dealer performance

ABSTRACTThe job responsibilities of a casino card dealer can encompass everything from dealing cards to entertaining customers. Whilst technical cards dealing is a fundamental part of their job requirement, the nontechnical service performance of engaging with gaming customers plays a significant role in customer-related outcomes. This study examines the factors that drive dealer service performance. Data were collected at six major casinos in Macau to investigate casino internal service quality, job security, and dealer occupational commitment. Job tenure is included in the investigation as a moderating variable. The study finds that casino internal service quality has a significant influence on both job security and occupational commitment which subsequently affect dealer service performance. Occupational commitment and job security fully mediate the relationship between internal service quality and service performance. Job length also exerts a significant moderating effect on the proposed relationships. Discussion and implications are provided to conclude this paper.

Gambling on the Future: Casino Enclaves, Development, and Poverty Alleviation in Laos

Following the extraordinary wealth generation of casinos in Macau and Singapore, governments and non-state actors across Southeast Asia have developed gambling establishments as a means to fast-track economic growth and stimulate national development. Yet, here and elsewhere, casinos have been heavily criticized for their association with immoral behaviour, problem gambling, corruption and organized crime. In this article I focus on two casinos in northern Laos to address two research questions. First, I consider how casinos have come to exist within the remote border regions of one of Asia’s least developed countries. Here, I discuss vice economies within the Golden Triangle region, multi-actor aspirations to boost transnational connectivity within continental Southeast Asia, strengthening political-economic relationships between Laos and China, and Government of Laos efforts to use foreign investment as a mechanism for increasing governance capacities in borderlands. Following this, I critically analyse how, in what ways, and for whom, casinos have brought development to Laos. Here, I focus specifically on the multifarious effects of casinos on the lives and livelihoods of local communities to argue that casino development has been informed by logics of expulsion and the establishment of new predatory formations. To make this argument, the article draws on four fieldwork visits to each of the casino sites between 2011 and 2015, desk-based research, and interviews with local residents, casino staff and members of the Government of Laos.

A Model Casino Law for Japan

Casinos are legal in nearly every country in the world. Japan is the largest remaining noncasino market. Japan has been debating whether to permit casinos for years. Successful integrated resorts (IRs) could significantly stimulate tourism and Japan’s economy. Experience elsewhere, however, has shown that IRs are risky investments for both the owners and the government. In this case, the Japanese market’s great size and the massive IRs it would support raise both the potential benefits and risks for the Japanese government. We demonstrate that the casino law Japan adopts will largely determine whether its IR industry succeeds or fails. We review the successes and failures of the large, diversified, and capital-intensive casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macau, and Singapore. From a statistical analysis of casino economics in these gaming markets, we derive the essential elements of a successful casino law in Japan. This paper provides recommendations on laws, regulations, and related matters, which include the goals, requirements, and approach to IRs the Japanese government should consider in drafting an IR law.

Embracing or fighting the urge: A multilevel investigation on casino service, branding and impulsive gambling

Academics and practitioners are increasingly interested in how branding and service may affect consumer behaviors. In view of intensifying competition in the casino industry, understanding these relationships would help casino operators achieve competitive advantage. The current study draws on the relevant marketing literature, and examines the antecedents, moderators and consequences of consumer buying behaviors, with a focus on impulsive buying in the casino settings. The proposed antecedents are casino service environment and employee service. Customer brand attachment and loyalty behaviors are modeled as consequences, and casino brand equity as a cross-level moderator. A quantitative method was employed for the purpose of this study. The survey was undertaken at 22 major casinos in Macau through a multilevel design. Results show that the casino service environment indeed induces impulsive gambling. Whilst employee service has little influence on impulsive gambling, the effect is enhanced by casino brand equity. Employee service is particularly salient for casinos with low brand equity. Impulsive gambling does have significant influence on loyalty outcomes through the mediating effect of brand attachment. Brand equity also demonstrates cross-level linear and nonlinear effects on the chain relationship, with the linear effect significantly larger. Implications for practitioners and the literature are provided to conclude the paper.

Relationships among Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Turnover Intention: Evidence from the Gambling Industry in Macau

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention of workers in two casinos in Macau. The current study was a correlational study and used convenience sampling, and a total of 105 surveys were retrieved from employees working in two casinos in Macau. For our sample, we found that job satisfaction had a significant and positive correlation with organizational commitment. We also found that the association between job satisfaction and turnover intention was positive but not significant and the association between organizational commitment and turnover intention was negative but not significant. Finally, the regression model indicated that job satisfaction and organizational commitment were effective predictors of employees’ turnover intention.

Positive and Negative Affect in Loss Aversion: Additive or Subtractive Logic?

AbstractPrevious studies explain loss aversion as the result of a situation in which the expected negative emotions derived from a potential loss exceed the expected positive emotions derived from a potential gain (subtractive logic). We questioned this view and proposed additive logic, in which a linear combination between negative and positive emotions can be used as summed anticipatory affect intensity (SAAI) to explain loss aversion. By disproving two implicit hypotheses of subtractive logic, Study 1 showed that the additive logic of expected positive and negative affect was more effective than the subtractive logic in predicting loss aversion. Study 2 used real monetary gains and losses to verify the conclusion in Study 1. Using state‐trait theory to comprehensively consider the state and trait aspects of affect intensity, we further deduced that the immediate expected affect intensity might originate from the difference of an individual trait in affect intensity. Study 3 proved this hypothesis and showed that SAAI plays an intermediary role between affect intensity and loss aversion. Furthermore, Study 4 used real gamblers in casinos in Macau as its sample and obtained the same conclusion regarding loss aversion in real life as was found in the laboratory. Finally, we explained the effect of SAAI on loss aversion and indicated the contribution and significance of this study. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relationships Among Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover of Casino Employees in Macau

This study assessed the level of casino employees’ burnout and the relationships between burnout and demographic and work characteristics, burnout and turnover intention (TI), and burnout and job satisfaction (JS). Quantitative surveys with 391 employees from six major casinos in Macau were conducted. Findings reveal that casino employees were moderately exhausted. Gender, age, marital status, length in the profession, shift work, and job position are associated with burnout. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and JS are associated with TI. Burnout contributes to the TI significantly, and it negatively affects JS. Management could pay more attention to emotions and work stress experienced by employees, improve workload and scheduling, and provide opportunities for all employees to channel their emotions. Management should instill in employees a sense of belonging through more open, frequent, and clear communication regarding personal performance.

Optimisation of vehicle population and reduction of CO<SUB align="right">2 emission

This paper aims to reduce the population and CO2 emission of the free shuttle bus (FSB) in Macau. Firstly, we investigate the operational conditions of the FSBs among the 15 casinos in Macau, including the transit time of FSBs and the number of visitors. Then we build a series of integer programming models to optimise the population of FSBs with a reduction of 49.4%. Finally, based on the reduction result of the vehicle population, we conclude that the CO2 emission of FSBs could be reduced by 60.4% with the present service level.

Understanding casino experiential attributes: An application to market positioning

Customer experience is becoming more critical in the service encounter. Although the literature is beginning to understand the role of experience in enticing customer satisfaction and loyalty, the criteria of customer experience evaluation is missing. The objective of this article is to explore the attributes that customers use to gage their experience in the context of the casino. In addition, the relationships between customer characteristics and the experience attributes are also investigated. The authors present a perceptual map illustrating the market position of major casinos in Macau based on the experiential attributes customers defined. The findings shed new light on the understanding of customer experience and provide scholars and managers insights into the factors that relate to various experiential attributes in the context of casinos. This study also presents an alternative method that allows researchers to interpret the dimensions of a perceptual map more objectively.

The clinical and social construction of the Paichais of Macau

The aim of the present study was to understand the clinical and social construction of pathological gamblers in Macau. In Macau, they are called Paichai (扒仔), which literally means “to grab money from others.” This article is a qualitative enquiry into Paichais who gamble in the casinos daily, often for a prolonged period of time. Some Paichais are “resident” gamblers in the casinos who live on the complimentary food and drinks that the casinos provide and sleep on the couches inside the casino premises. To finance their gambling, they hustle and sometimes beg for money. Fifteen participants, ranging in age from 24 to 53 years, were recruited from the casinos in Macau who were repeatedly observed and interviewed. The emphasis of the interviews were to explore the participants’ accounts of how their gambling problem had developed and how gambling influenced their lives and their significant others. The Canadian Problem Gambling Index Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) (Ferris & Wynne, 2001) was used to assess their gambling status. Clinical assessment of the participants was based on the results of clinical interviews, observation notes and the scores on the PGSI. It was found that the majority of the participants could be classified as belonging to the antisocial-impulsive type according to the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Paichais can be described as manipulative, cunning, impulsive, reckless and lacking the ability to reflect on their actions. The current study attempts to understand these individuals from the particular social and cultural perspectives of Macau.

What Does a Concept Attract? The Case of Gaming in Macau

This paper examines herding behavior among Hong Kong investors using announcements of the opening of new casinos in Macau. The results show that there is a difference in the herding behavior toward these “Macau concept” stocks before and after the change in investment sentiment regarding Macau. Similar results are also revealed for the impact of announcements related to the Macau concept. Furthermore, investors in general herd more on selling than on buying upon a corresponding announcement. The evidence that is documented in this paper also suggests that there is herding around exceptional price and trading volume movements in the trading of Macau concept stocks.

Service Quality of Casinos in Macau: From the Mainland Chinese Perspective

A majority of earlier studies on customers’ perception of casino service quality and customers’ repeat visitation factors were mainly conducted in Western countries. With significant growth of the casino gaming industry in Asia, particularly in the case of Macau far surpassing the gaming revenue generated by the traditional gaming mecca of Las Vegas, it is important for the industry to understand customers’ perceived service quality of the casinos in Macau and to identify the factors that make them return. In this study, Mainland Chinese visitors were asked to rate their perception of the service quality attributes of the casinos they visited most recently in Macau. Three hundred and ninety-nine usable samples were obtained. The service quality dimensions for casinos derived from this study include tangibles, fairness, responsiveness, professionalism, and variety. Three of these five factors, namely, professionalism, variety, and fairness, significantly contributed to the Mainland Chinese visitors’ intentions to revisit the casinos.

Casino employees’ perceptions of their quality of work life

A good quality of work life (QWL) can increase job satisfaction and task performance, reduce absenteeism and turnover rate, lower tardiness frequency, and enhance organizational effectiveness and organizational commitment. This study investigates what contributes to a good QWL for employees in the casino industry, which is currently an untouched topic in the existing hospitality and tourism literature. This qualitative study involves face-to-face interviews with 40 casino employees (including dealers, supervisors, and managers) from six major casinos in Macau. The content analysis of the data yielded four dimensions of QWL that casino employees considered to be an important constructs: job characteristics, HR policies, work group relationships, and the physical work environment. The four dimensions and 17 attributes identified in this study can help HR practitioners develop strategies to improve the QWL of casino employees while reducing the industry's high turnover rate.

Macau casinos and organised crime

Presents research into how casinos in Macau, the “Monte Carlo of the Orient”, link with organised crime. Outlines the research methodology, which includes 16 in‐depth interviews with staff from law enforcement agencies, the gambling industry and elsewhere, plus field observations and secondary sources. Describes the pyramid structure of the “bate‐ficha” business and the triads which act as bouncers and protectors. Looks back at how the Macau colonial government regarded gambling as a vital industry from which it obtained most of its revenues, and in return gave the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM( the gaming monopoly; this symbiotic relationship created openings for triad infiltration and resulting skimming, money laundering and corruption. Concludes that the relationship between government and gaming had benefits, but the monopoly structure gave no incentive for improvement, while the situation anyway deteriorated in the 1990s as casino revenues fluctuated; unregulated competition led to increased crime and there is now urgent need to reform industry policing and management.