Casino Taxation in Macao: An Economic Perspective

Macao’s gaming industry has experienced dramatic growth for 8 years, yet with certain social costs due to compulsive gambling. The government has come under pressure for tax cuts even though its gaming receipts are falling relatively to the casino retained revenue. The request for tax relief is triggered by a recent decline in net profit despite fast growing gross gaming revenue under favorable market conditions. This is very likely caused by a substantial hike in casino operating costs due to increased competition and might also signal the presence of the principal-agent problem. Given the regressivity of gaming tax with respect to net profit, it is no surprise that casinos with lower profitability are more prone to seek tax cuts. The source of Macao gaming profit hinges on three distinct factors: rising demand from China, monopoly location for casinos, and market structure of oligopoly. These factors provide economic justifications for the current tax regime of Macao with a strong ability to pass tax burdens on to massive visitors. The government relies on casino tax revenue to deal with gambling related problems and promote local diversified development. Pushing for tax variability may create policy instability, business uncertainty, and unpredictable prosperity in the long term.     

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Limited Reduction in Electronic Gaming Machine Availability on Perceived Gambling Behaviour and Objective Expenditure

In Australia, there is evidence to suggest that there is a positive association between the geographical accessibility of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and the frequency and intensity of gambling in local areas. Evidence such as this has been used to introduce regulatory policies to reduce the geographical accessibility of EGMs through the reduction of gaming machine numbers in venues. The aim of this paper was to describe the process involved in the 15 per cent reduction in gaming machine numbers in the state of South Australia and the apparent effects on gaming revenue and gambling behaviours. Detailed analysis of objective EGM data as well as survey-based interviews with 400 regular EGM players provided only limited evidence of behavioural changes or significant reductions in gaming revenue. The paper describes the nature of industry responses to circumvent the effects of the reduction in machine numbers and the implications of these findings for future regulatory policies relating to EGM gambling.     

Market behavior of gaming stocks: An analysis of the first twenty years

Gaming stocks have now been publicly traded on the stock exchange for about twenty years. This study looks at the price movement patterns of gaming stocks compared with the broader market for six stock market cycles between 1973 and 1992. The study suggests that gaming stocks tend to be more volatile than the market as a whole and that this has been true throughout the twenty year period. It also shows that gaming stocks have risen in price during this period at a rate much greater than that for the general market. Special events, such as the establishment of gaming in New Jersey, can cause the gaming stocks to move in a direction opposite to the general market. Finally, the findings indicate that gaming stocks are especially susceptible to stock market declines which are related to concerns about the price or availability of oil.     

The evolving market structures of gambling: case studies modelling the socioeconomic assignment of gaming machines in Melbourne and Sydney,Australia

The expansion of gambling industries worldwide is intertwined with the growing government dependence on gambling revenue for fiscal assignments. In Australia, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) have dominated recent gambling industry growth. As EGMs have proliferated, growing recognition has emerged that EGM distribution closely reflects levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. More machines are located in less advantaged regions. This paper analyses time-series socioeconomic distributions of EGMs in Melbourne, Australia, an immature EGM market, and then compares the findings with the mature market in Sydney. Similar findings in both cities suggest that market assignment of EGMs transcends differences in historical and legislative environments. This indicates that similar underlying structures are evident in both markets. Modelling the spatial structures of gambling markets provides an opportunity to identify regions most at risk of gambling related problems. Subsequently, policies can be formulated which ensure fiscal revenue from gambling can be better targeted towards regions likely to be most afflicted by excessive gambling-related problems.     

Nevada gaming: revenues and taxes (1945-95)

In 1931, Nevada legalized casino gambling, an act which allowed its gaming industry to develop. Because many jurisdictions outside Nevada are now embracing legalized gambling as a path to a brighter economic future and because this proliferation presents Nevada with new challenges and opportunities, it is a good time to review the Nevada experience. Here, the focus is on gaming revenues and gaming tax collections during the 1945–95 period. We find that the growth rate of Nevada's gaming industry has slowed over time, with the relative importance of gaming in the Nevada economy peaking in the late 1970's. The Nevada economy has since been gradually diversifying, something which will increasingly pressure Nevadans to look for government revenue sources other than gaming if current levels of government services are to be maintained.     

Voluntary turnover among non-supervisory casino employees

As gaming is expanding nationally and internationally, existing gaming operations are facing increased competition for employees with gaming experience. This study investigates the factors related to employee turnover in the gaming industry. Workers of six casinos in Reno, Nevada were surveyed concerning their work attitudes and turnover intentions, resulting in a sample of 492 observations. The sample represents all non-supervisory job types typically found in casinos. Pearson correlations and multivariate regression analysis were employed to investigate the relationships among turnover intentions and job satisfaction, specific satisfaction dimensions, organizational commitment, worker perceptions, pay, and labor market conditions. The results show that job satisfaction and organizational commitment are most strongly related to turnover. In contrast to previous findings, labor market conditions and pay play only a minor role in an employee's decision to quit. Instead, perceived lack of job security, satisfaction with supervision, and perceived employer concern with employee well-being emerge among the most important factors. The results imply that employers in the gaming industry can manage employee turnover by providing effective supervision that is based on employee participation and fair treatment of employees. Training of supervisors, therefore, may be a relatively inexpensive method of controlling employee turnover in casinos.     

PROFIT‐MAXIMIZING GATE REVENUE SHARING IN SPORTS LEAGUES

In this article, I examine how sports leagues can use gate revenue sharing to coordinate talent investments and maximize club profits. Gate revenue sharing reduces incentives to invest in talent. Initially lower investments boost profits, because total costs go down, but investing less also shrinks revenues, which harms profits at higher levels of sharing. The league maximizes profits by setting a sharing rule, which balances these two effects. Gate revenue sharing decreases talent investments more strongly in leagues with heterogeneous rather than homogeneous local market sizes. As a result, the profit‐maximizing level of sharing is higher for relatively homogeneous leagues. This implies that more balanced leagues are expected to share more gate revenues than less balanced leagues. It also explains why gate revenue sharing is widely used in the U.S. major leagues, while it is largely absent in European soccer. (JEL L41, L83)     

House edge: hold percentage and the cost of EGM gambling

Price in commercial gambling is effectively the house edge of the game. For electronic gaming machines (EGMs), house edge is the hold percentage. The paper tracks changes in hold percentage for club and hotel EGM gambling in Australia. We use real gambling turnover and revenue data to show that hold generally falls over time, save for the State of Victoria between 1993 and 2009. In Victoria, hold fell during the roll-out phase of the sector, before rising steadily. We examine local level data, finding that hold varied considerably by gaming operator across the period, before converging. The unique owner/operator corporate duopoly that existed in Victoria is posed as a potential explanation for aggregate price changes. We then calculate estimates of the monetary value of changes in hold percentage. We find increased hold can lead to substantial monetary redistributions of gamblers' stakes toward the house and away from gamblers. Policy options to protect gamblers from the unfairness of undetectable price rises are discussed, including the possibility of a more tightly regulated hold percentage, a tax on windfall profits derived from raising hold, and tying game identities to particular hold percentages.     

The Relationship Between Reinforcement and Gaming Machine Choice

The present study assessed whether prior reinforcement experiences were related to gaming machine choice and the decision to change gaming machines during a session of gambling. Seventy undergraduate students (48 women, 22 men; mean age = 22.05 years) were presented with two visually identical simulated gaming machines in a practice phase. These simulated machines differed only in the rate of reinforcement. After the practice phase, participants were asked to choose a machine to play in the test phase and were allowed to change machines at will. Two measures of reinforcement were employed; frequency of wins and payback rate. Results indicated that neither measure of reinforcement was related to machine choice, but both were predictors of when participants changed machines. A post-hoc analysis of the 33 participants who changed machines during the test phase found a significant relationship between machine choice and prior reinforcement. For these participants, payback rate was significantly related to machine choice, unlike frequency of wins.     

Gaming out online: Black lesbian identity development and community building in Xbox Live

As gaming culture continues to marginalize women and people of color, other gamers are also highlighting the inequalities they face within digital gaming communities. While heterosexism and homophobia are commonplace within gaming culture, little is known about the actual experiences of “gaymers” and even less about “gaymers” of color. As such, this article seeks to explore lesbians of color and their experiences “gayming” out and online. Exploring identity development, community building, and connectivity via social networking, the women within this study articulate what it means to be lesbian online and how this impacts their physical and digital experiences. The private spaces within gaming culture that many marginalized groups inhabit are the few spaces that value the articulation of marginalized interests and viewpoints. Ethnographic observations reveal how supportive communities can improve resilience by mitigating the effects of stereotyping, microaggressions, and other discriminatory practices in online gaming.     

Gendered gambling domains and changes in Sweden

Pachinko is an ‘amusement arcade’ type machine that is popular throughout Japan, with an estimated 17.1 million ‘players’ providing an enormous annual revenue of 2.87 trillion yen (US$250 billion). It is simple and easy to play and has all the hallmarks and structural features of gaming machines worldwide. While academic discourses on the addictive potential of gaming machines are well developed, their application to pachinko is very limited. This is, perhaps, due to a number of factors. First, pachinko is portrayed as a game rather than as gambling in Japan, so that addiction issues are ignored or downplayed. Second, most accounts of ‘playing’ pachinko are journalistic rather than academic. Third, academics tend to focus on police corruption and organized crime rather than addiction. Here, we take the approach that pachinko represents ‘gambling by proxy’ and explore its addictive potential. We conclude that unless pachinko is recognized as a form of gambling, present changes in Japanese legislation will be of limited value in tackling addiction.     

DETERMINANTS OF REVENUE IN SPORTS LEAGUES: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT

This study investigates determinants of revenue in North America's four major professional sports leagues. Revenue is positively associated with on‐field success in baseball (MLB), basketball (NBA), and hockey (NHL), but not in football (NFL). The returns to success are not diminishing as commonly assumed, which casts doubt on the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis, and differences across leagues are consistent with revenue sharing arrangements. Estimates indicate a strong negative but diminishing relationship between stadium age and revenue. Teams in larger markets generate more revenue than smaller markets, but the returns to success do not differ according to market size. (JEL Z21)     

An Examination of Factors Driving Chinese Gamblers’ Fallacy Bias

Gambling is a leisure activity, which is enjoyed by many people around the world. Among these people, Chinese are known for their high propensity to gamble and are highly sought after by many casinos. In this exploratory study, the effect of two types of fallacy bias—positive recency and negative recency—on the betting behavior of Chinese gamblers is investigated. Although the influence of fallacy bias on a betting decision is well documented, little is known about the interaction of the factors that dictate fallacy bias. Drawing from an analysis of 2,645 betting decisions, the results show that Chinese gamblers primarily endorse positive recency, especially when the latest outcome is more frequent. This is contrary to most findings on Western subjects in which negative recency is more common. Current findings have meaningful implications to casino gaming entertainment businesses and public policymakers.     

Blurring the boundaries: Using Gamergate to examine “real” and symbolic violence against women in contemporary gaming culture

Recent controversies in gaming culture (i.e., Gamergate) highlight the lack of attention devoted to discussions of actual violence women experience in gaming. Rather, the focus is often situated on in‐game violence; however, we must extend discussions of in‐game violence and increased aggression to account for the “real world,” violent, realities of women as gamers, developers, and even critics of the medium. As such, we provide context with a brief introduction to the events of Gamergate. We then discuss the connections between the continued marginalization of women both in video games and in “real life.” Drawing from a range of sociological and ludological research, especially Bourdieu and Wacquant's conceptualization of symbolic violence, we examine the normalization of violence towards women in gaming culture. We conclude with considerations for future work involving symbolic violence and other conceptualizations of violence. This focus allows for a more impactful consideration as to why and how codified simulated violence affects marginalized members of communities. Using symbolic violence to connect trends within games to the lived experiences of women in gaming communities binds virtual experiences to “real” ones.     

Cyberbullying on Online Gaming Platforms for Children and Youth

Cyberbullying has been recognized as a serious social concern. Considering the varied contexts of online engagement by children and youth is increasingly necessary to adequately understand their experiences and the impact of their participation. An online context which requires further attention is gaming platforms, which are especially popular among boys. Methods: Using a theoretical approach of social dominance, this paper analyzed secondary data drawn from a mixed methods study of cyberbullying to investigate the prevalence and experience of gaming among a quantitative survey sample (n?=?670) of 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students, as well as the experience and impact of gaming on a qualitative interview sub-sample (n?=?57). Gaming prevalence rates are provided. Boys were significantly more likely to engage in internet gaming (though the effect size was small); χ² (1, n?=?669)?=?10.11, p?=?0.001, phi?=??0.123, 95% CI (?0.207, ?0.047). Qualitative content analysis (QCA) identified four themes: (1) aggression (exceeding what was required to achieve game objectives) characterized gaming culture and pervaded gaming platforms; (2) anonymity contributed to the culture of aggression; (3) participants often did not consider aggression cyberbullying, but rather just a part of the culture of gaming platforms; and (4) participants’ responses to aggressive behaviors. Certain behaviors on gaming platforms may not be appropriately recognized as cyberbullying. Implications for social work practice with children and youth are provided.     

The Effect of Revenue Diversification on Output Creation in Nonprofit Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective

Nonprofits continue to be faced with financial challenges to fulfill their missions. Both the academic literature and nonprofit practitioners have explored revenue diversification and concentration strategies to meet these challenges. While these two strategies are essentially antagonistic, both have received support as being viable strategies to create better outcomes for the organization. This article examines whether revenue diversification or concentration strategies lead to greater mission outputs in a nonprofit context. Using resource dependence theory as a guiding framework, two opposing hypotheses are tested to gain more insight into the diversification versus concentration dilemma. A unique dataset is built and utilized to estimate a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model to assess the correlation between revenue diversification and mission outputs. Results indicate that revenue diversification (and not concentration) is associated with an increase in organizational outputs.     

Lotteries in the state fiscal system

Lotteries give states direct revenue from the commercial gambling market. Thirty-two states plus the District of Columbia, encompassing almost three-quarters of the population, operate games, a dramatic spread since the first modern lottery in New Hampshire (1964). These lotteries typically make only a small contribution to state finances, yield revenue that is subject to dramatic annual changes, are expensive to administer, and place relatively greater burdens on low income than on high income individuals. Proceeds are often dedicated to particular functions, but whether lottery proceeds do more than simply substitute for funds that the function would otherwise receive is doubtful. The fiscal limitations of lotteries have not dimmed the public popularity of the games.     

Evaluating the Economic Impact of Casino Liberalization in Macao

This paper aims to evaluate the economic impact after Macao decided to liberalize its gaming industry. By analysing both objective data of official statistics and subjective data of the perceptions of quality of life, we painted a picture of mixed blessings. Although objective indicators showed strong economic growth in terms of a rise in per capita GDP and public revenue as well as a decline in unemployment rate, subjective indicators revealed that local residents were less than optimistic about their own employment outlook and did not perceive any improvement in their overall economic situation. While casino liberalization brought forth tremendous economic gain, the general population did not subjectively feel the benefits. An integrative analysis of both objective and subjective indicators would therefore allow us to look closer how residents?? lives in the micro-level could have been adversely affected by the prosperous economic outlook at the macro-level.