Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Eyes on Casino Gaming in China: Residents' Attitudes towards Precasino Development in Sanya

2014; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

1531-0930

Omar Moufakkir, Dallen J. Timothy,

Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

AbstractWhile Macau offers world class casinos, casino gaming is not legalized in Mainland China. Current media reports, however, indicate a growing interest by the Chinese government in establishing casinos in the Hainan Province. This study assesses the perceptions of residents about potential gaming development in their community. Resident attitude surveys have been used by planners and policymakers in order to gain local support for tourism projects and initiatives. A series of hypotheses were tested. In particular, the study evaluates the difference in perception between tourism workers and non-tourism workers, residents who live in the city center where the casino development project is planned and those who live outside the city center, and short-term residents and long-term residents. The biggest divide in perception exists between recent and long-time residents. Slight differences also appear between tourism workers and non-tourism workers. Only minor differences were recorded between city-dwellers and those who live outside the city. Recent residents and tourism workers appear to be more optimistic than the other groups. A discriminant analysis was used to find out which of the perceptions variables discriminate the most between the sample groups. Implications for planning and communication are given.Keywords: Residents' attitudes, gaming, casinos, China, SanyaIntroductionCasino gaming has been touted as a means of stimulating the tourism economy (Goodman, 1994; Piner & Paradis, 2004; Henderson, 2006). Nevertheless, controversial issues arise whenever and wherever casino development is considered (Janes & Collison, 2004; Kang et al., 2008; Moufakkir, 2002; Roehl, 1999; Vong, 2008). Advocates argue that gambling brings in much-needed regional income and jobs, while opponents argue that it harms communities, families and individual lives (Wan, 2012).Over the past three decades, gambling has grown rapidly and gained popularity all over the world. Despite the proliferation of casinos, gambling is still a controversial activity in many places, including China. Although the Chinese are known for their propensity for gaming (Blaszczynski, Huynh, Dumlao, & Farrell, 1998), casino gaming is illegal in Mainland China (Mainland China does not include Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). Thus, Chinese wishing to play in casinos are required to travel abroad or to Macau. Recently, however, Hainan province is exploring gaming as a potential revenue source by bringing more tourists to the region and keeping gaming expenditures at home in China (e.g., What's on Sanya, 2013; echinacities, 2013; Reuters, 2013).Gaming as a source of entertainment and leisure has existed in Asia for centuries. In many Asian cultures, betting-type games are an integral part of people's lives. Asian countries are awakening to the potential of commercial gaming and finding innovative models to attract players from across Asia and the globe, as many countries believe gambling to be a lucrative source of revenue. Traditional gambling in Asia included sports betting, animal races, cards, and cockfights. Asians used to gamble at home, on the streets, and in some traditional simplified versions of casinos (Hsu, 2006). For instance, Macau has a gaming history dating back to the 19th century and was a monopoly-based jurisdiction with Stanley Ho's company holding the sole concession for casino gaming from 1962 to 2002. The first casino opened in South Korea in 1967. Following this, the market was dominated for many years by the Paradise Group. Malaysia opened its Genting Highlands casino in 1971. The Philippines created a regulatory framework for casinos under President Marcos in 1976, despite having a grey casino market since the 1930s (Ashton & Korpi, 2008).According to Koh (2004), the Asian share of world revenue from gaming was 22.4 percent in 2004. It was 29.2 percent in 2010, and it is forecast to reach 43. …