Gaming and Casino Operations Management Commons^™

Where Women Stand In Tribal Vs. Non-Tribal Gaming Leadership, Toni Repetti, Shekinah L. Hoffman

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Tribal casinos operate for the economic development and self-sufficiency of their members so additional profit generated directly benefits their communities. Gender diversity has been shown to increase firm performance across different types of business so if tribal casinos have gender diversity in management they may be able to increase their profits. This study evaluates casino management positions in 405 tribal and 567 non-tribal casinos in the United States. Results indicate that women in tribal gaming only make up 37.8% of all management positions and while they represent about half of managers, the percentage decreases as the position increases. When compared …

What Predicts Esports Betting? A Study On Consumption Of Video Games, Esports, Gambling And Demographic Factors, Joseph Macey, Brett Abarnabel, Juho Hamari

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

The parallel media related to sports, gaming and gambling are expanding, exemplified by the emergence of esports and game-related gambling (e.g. loot boxes, esports betting). The increasing convergence of these phenomena means it is essential to understand how they interact. Given the expanding consumer base of esports, it is important to know how individuals’ backgrounds and consumption of game media may lead to esports betting. This study employs survey data (N = 1368) to investigate how demographics, alongside consumption of video games, esports and gambling can predict esports betting activity. Results reveal that both spectating esports and participation in general …

Why Change In The Gaming Industry Should Never Surprise Anyone, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Research

There has been a great deal of change in the news lately for the gaming world. After more than a decade as head of MGM Resorts, Jim Murren is stepping down. The Chinese coronavirus outbreak has sent Macau gaming revenues into a tailspin. On a happier note, a big brand name is returning to a Las Vegas casino, with the announcement that Hilton will be operating three hotels as part of the Genting Group’s Resorts World development. Change is in the air. But that’s nothing new, and nothing the industry shouldn’t be expecting.

Regulated Sports Betting: A Nevada Perspective, Becky Harris

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

This article discusses the impact Nevada has had on legal regulated sports betting for the past seventy years. First, an overview and history of Nevada's sport betting regulatory framework will be presented; and, second, lessons learned and issues to consider for states wishing to embark on legalized regulated sports betting such as, integrity, why states and not the federal government should regulate sports betting, how tax rates and fees impact the legal and illegal markets, why technology is critical component of legal sports wagering, why multiple avenues for consumer protection are essential, and finally how cooperation among all stakeholders is …

Value Relevance Of Financial And Non-Financial Information: Evidence From The Gaming Industry, Lisa Goh, Kevin Ck Lam, Hong Weng Lawrence Lei

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Using financial and non-financial data from casino gaming firms listed in the United States from 1999–2017, we explore two research questions: (1) Is financial information value relevant to financial markets in the casino gaming industry? (2) Does non-financial information have incremental explanatory power over financial information? In general, we find that accounting numbers can explain a firm’s market value and stock returns in the casino gaming industry, except for accounting accruals, which may behave differently compared to other industries. We also find that non-financial information, such as the number of table games, number of slot machines, and their relative proportion, …

Nipped In The Budd? Assessing The Wisdom Of The Gambling Review Body’S Recommendations In Relation To Problem Gambling, Daniel Waugh, Tom Grant

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The convening of the Gambling Review Body (the ‘Review Body’), between 2000 and 2001 was the most recent attempt by the British Government to consider fully policy objectives for the operation of its licensed gambling market. It followed in a tradition of comprehensive Government-sponsored reviews of gambling (carried out in the twentieth century by Royal Commissions) approximately every 20 to 25 years. The publication of its report in 2001 had a strong influence on the drafting of the Gambling Act 2005 (the ‘2005 Act’), Britain’s principal piece of gambling legislation.

In 2019, Britain’s gambling laws are under review once more. …

Reinventing The Wheel: Comparing Family Friendly Vegas And Adult Friendly Vegas Revenue Growth, James Vaughn

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The one constant for Las Vegas is change, always looking for the Next Big Thing™. In the 1990s, Las Vegas engaged in a grand experiment: roller coasters, amusement parks, family pools and shows. In the 2000s, Las Vegas reinvented itself back to its roots: condo not amusement parks, sensual not swashbuckling shows, topless European ultra-pools not kiddie pools. While the house always wins, did the casinos of the 1990s or 2000s beat the ultimate house, going beyond nominal revenue growth into the jackpot of real revenue growth?

Gamesense Interactions: Improving Guest Experience With Responsible Gaming, Richard Taylor

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

How do conversations about responsible gambling impact the employee and guest experience?

With the implementation of GameSense and its strong ties to our loyalty marketing program, M life Rewards, MGM Resorts endeavors to answer that very question. Through focus groups research, interaction surveys, and on the ground conversations with casino employees, we are learning a lot about our innovative approach to responsible gambling.

During this lightning talk, Director of Responsible Gaming, Richard Taylor, will provide a typical GameSense interaction, and a very brief summary about GameSense and why it's critically important to make RG a focal point of guest experience.

Female Leadership In Gaming: Where Are They & Where Are They Missing?, Toni Repetti, Shekinah Hoffman

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Women account for over half the gaming workforce, but there is still a gap in leadership. Men continue to dominate casino executive and board positions and this is not representative of the front-line workforce. This presentation uses a database of 10, 950 management positions in 972 United States casinos to evaluate the facts, not perceptions. The database consists of 567 commercial and 405 Native American casinos, which are evaluated separately and in combination. Results show women hold 35.5% of manager and above positions when evaluated overall, but there is a significant difference when evaluated by type of operations. Commercial casinos …

Current Problem Gambling Countermeasures And Responsible Gaming Dissemination Issues In Japan, Naoyuki Nishimura Phd Md

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Activities such as pachinko, pachi-slot and public sports race betting make up Japan’s unique gambling culture. When the “the Gambling Addiction Countermeasures Act” and “the Integrated Resort (IR) Development Act” were passed by the Japanese Diet in July 2018, gambling in Japan has begun the move to a new stage. In preparation of IR developments, there will be measures enacted at the national government level on problem gambling from existing activities, and discussions have started on how to prevent the negative influence created from casinos in the IRs. The problem gaming countermeasures which just started in Japan face many issues …

Sports Betting And Indian Gaming: Overcoming Barriers To Market Entry And Integration Of Sports Books Into Tribal Casinos, Steve Light

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision In Murphy v. NCAA (2018) permitting states to legalize sports wagering, the biggest brand-names in gaming worldwide were positioning themselves to capitalize on the fan base for America’s most recognizable sports leagues.

Sports wagering already is up and running in five states; analysts predict that more than half the states will legalize it within five years. Many will be among the 29 states that currently have casinos owned and operated by American Indian tribes in this $32.4 billion market segment.

There is no firm sense and little data pointing to …

Expert Commentary On Sports Betting Post-Paspa, Becky Harris

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

Becky Harris, appointed by former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (2011-2019), served as the first female Chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board from January 2018 to January 2019. Harris was the first Chair to propose regulations addressing workplace sexual harassment. Prior to serving as Chair, Harris served in the Nevada Legislature for the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions.

From Casino Wars To Casino Capitalism: Sovereignty And Gaming In Macau, Tim Simpson

Occasional Papers

In 1999, after nearly half a millennia of administration, Portugal returned the citystate of Macau to the People’s Republic of China, and it was designated a Special Administrative Region under the PRC’s “one country, two systems” regime. Less than a decade after the handover Macau was transformed into the world’s most lucrative site of casino gaming, and today the city is visited by more than 35 million annual tourists, the majority of whom are from mainland China. Macau’s remarkable economic expansion may be in part attributed to the city’s ambiguous sovereignty, an endemic characteristic which dates to the city’s founding …

Strategies To Customize Responsible Gambling Messages: A Review And Focus Group Study, Sally M. Gainsbury, Brett L. L. Abarbanel, Kahlil S. Philander, Jeffrey V. Butler

Research & Economic Development Faculty Research

Background Responsible gambling messages are widely used as a tool to enable informed choice and encourage appropriate gambling behavior. It is generally accepted that gamblers have different levels of risk of developing gambling problems and require various harm minimization tools and resources. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that responsible gambling messages should be customized and target specific groups of gamblers. This project aimed to understand hypothesized differences between cohorts of gamblers and receive qualitative feedback on archetypal targeted messages used to increase use of responsible gambling tools. Methods Focus groups were held to test messages for specific cohorts: young …

Book Review: The Strip. Las Vegas And The Architecture Of The American Dream., Marta Soligo

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Book Review: The Strip. Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream

Luck Of The Land: The Growth Of Tribal Gaming, Kim Manh

Occasional Papers

In this paper, I examine the factors that influence tribal decisions regarding gaming policy. First, I look into past accounts of the causes of gaming diffusion and attempt to overcome some of their shortcomings. In particular, previous research has neglected the limited role of federalism, geography, and the impact of gaming during undetermined legality. By collecting data from gaming expansion on tribal lands in California, I provide increased nuance to the story of gaming diffusion. I argue that proximity to major population centers will have the strongest impact on the success of tribal casinos. Only when there is an appropriately …

How Slot Machines Work -- And Why You Should Think Twice Before Playing Them, Anthony Frederick Lucas

Hospitality Faculty Research

A short summary of my recent academic research. The intent was to expose a wider audience to the findings. The U.S. Conversation was recommended by Mary Croughan, VP Research & Economic Development

A History Of Play In Print Board Games From The Renaissance To Milton Bradley, Kelli Wood

Occasional Papers

This essay considers how a historical legacy of printed games dating back to the sixteenth century in Italy laid the foundation for modern board games like those produced by Milton Bradley. The technology of print and the broad publics it reached enabled the spread of a common gaming culture- one built upon shared visual structures in game boards. Modern board games, of course, relied upon similar rules and replicated the ludic functions of their Renaissance progenitors. But perhaps more importantly, they built upon and perpetuated entrenched narratives about how fortune and morality contributed to lived experiences, presenting their viewers and …

Education, Not Restriction, Is Key To Reducing Harm From Offshore Gambling, Sally Gainsbury, Alex Blaszczynski, Brett Abarbanel

Hospitality Faculty Research

Australian internet gambling policies have been refined and prohibitions on illegal gambling sites clarified in recent years. These offshore sites not only pose potential harm to consumers in the form of fraudulent and deceptive dealings, but also have long-term consequences through reducing the tax dollars generated by the licensed market. Our research takes a closer look at why gamblers use offshore sites, and the implications of this for policymaking.

Civil Rights Or Sovereignty Rights? Understanding The Historical Conflict Between Native Americans And Organized Labor, Colleen O'Neill

Occasional Papers

Unions have played important roles in Indigenous struggles in Latin America and in campaigns that fueled civil rights movements in the United States, including efforts to organize agricultural, hospitality, and health care workers. But, Native Americans have had less of a connection with organized labor. Indeed, in the current climate, labor and tribes seemed to be locked in an adversarial relationship. Tribal leaders see unions as a threat to their sovereignty. Unions, such as Unite-HERE and the United Food and Commercial Workers, clearly see their rights to organize as part of a larger civil rights struggle. Examining struggles between tribal …

Glass Ceilings & Leaky Pipelines: Gender Disparity In The Casino Industry, Toni Repetti, Shekinah L. Hoffman

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

While women account for over half the hospitality workforce there is a gap in leadership positions. This study evaluates 10,950 management positions in 972 United States commercial and Native American casinos, as of December 2016. The results show women hold 35.5% of manager and above positions. Women lead in departments such as human resources, public relations, and sales and events, but lag in casino operations management. This demonstrates horizontal occupational segregation. The results also indicate women represent 46.7% of managers, but significantly less of executive leadership. Women held only 19.4% of owner, president, and chief positions. This suggests vertical occupational …

Christianity And Gambling: An Introduction, Massimo Leone

Occasional Papers

Religions hold complex relations with games and, in particular, with gambling. The article focuses on Christianity. On the one hand, the history of this religion shows a tendency to condemn games as source of distraction from spiritual rectitude and to stigmatize gambling, above all, as opening to metaphysical randomness and, as a consequence, as challenge to the idea of divine omniscience. On the other hand, Christianity has also sought to reinterpret games, and even gambling, as possible occasion for moral improvement and as useful distraction from the hardship of monastic life. A theological perspective that reaches its peak in Thomas …

Ninth Island, Las Vegas: Hawaiian Gaming Tourism And The California Hotel, Cynthia Van Gilder, Dana Herrera

Occasional Papers

Many people do not realize that Las Vegas, Nevada is home to a unique niche tourism: it is overwhelmingly the vacation destination of choice for residents of the state of Hawai’i, even affectionately termed the “Ninth Island.” Many credit the strong Hawaiian interest in Las Vegas to the fact that there is no legal gaming in the state of Hawai’i, however, data indicates that it is not just the opportunity to gamble that bring Hawaiian tourists here, but also the specifc amenities and experience offered at one particular hotel and casino, The California Hotel. Nicknamed “The Cal,” this establishment is …

An Exploratory Study In To The Money Laundering Threats, Vulnerabilities, And Controls Within The Uk Bookmaker Sector, With A Specific Focus On Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals, Kane Pepi

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The purpose of this exploratory study was to generate an understanding in to the money laundering threats, vulnerabilities and controls found within UK betting shops, with a direct focus on the exponential growth of Fixed-Odd Betting Terminals. Qualitative research methods facilitated eight semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders linked to the gambling and/or money laundering sphere. This included the Gambling Commission, Campaign for Fairer Gambling, an ex-Head of Security and Safety at a major bookmaker, and five regular Fixed-Odd Betting Terminal users. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded for thematic analysis, subsequently resulting in the emergence of four interesting and …

Tales From The Slot Floor: Casino Slot Managers In Their Own Words, David Schwartz

UNLV Gaming Press Books

Slot machines have been, since the 1970s, an integral element of the modern casino resort. From the early 1980s, they have garnered the bulk of gaming revenues in Nevada and in most American jurisdictions that have legalized casinos since then, they also produce the majority of gaming win. For that reason, they are an incredibly important part of any modern casino resort, and their management deserves documentation and investigation.

In 2016 and 2017, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research, in cooperation with the Oral History Research Center, conducted an oral history project focusing on slot managers. …

Influence Of Perceptual Factors Of A Responsible Gambling Program On Customer Satisfaction With A Gambling Firm, Brett Abarbanel, Lisa Cain, Kahlil S. Philander

Research & Economic Development Faculty Research

Using data collected from customers of a Canadian provincial government-owned gambling firm, this study explores the relationship between gamblers’ perception of the organization’s commitment to responsible gambling programs and satisfaction with the firm. Results of a principal components analysis suggest that many value based judgements are closely related, and a multivariate regression model suggests that perceived adequacy of responsible gambling programs and perceived firm motives are predictive of customer satisfaction scores. We conclude that corporate social responsibility, and in particular, a commitment to responsible gambling programs, are closely related to customer satisfaction with gambling firms.

The “Singapore Model” In Gaming: Applications In South Korea, Young Gi Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The gaming governance system in Singapore is a very well-known and internationally renowned model. Singapore began to launch their gaming regulation system in 2005 by establishing a national framework on gambling prior to opening two integrated resorts in the country in 2010 (Winslow, Cheok, & Subramaniam, 2015). In contrast, the South Korean “model” is much less renowned. Though there have been discussions about introducing full-scale integrated resorts, the government currently allows South Korean citizens to gamble in only one property - Kangwon Land (Research, 2016). However, Kangwon Land’s situation is controversial in South Korea, with concerns about problem gambling issues …

Entry Fees As A Responsible Gambling Tool: An Economic Analysis, Kahlil Philander

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Entry fees or levies have received increased interest as a responsible gambling tool and have been implemented or proposed in an increasing number of jurisdictions. Using comparative statics, this study applies economic theory to understand the distributional consequences of entry fees on players with and without gambling related problems. Overall, it appears that there is relatively weak theoretical support for entry fees’ use as responsible gambling tool as they primarily distort the demand of more price sensitive recreational gamblers. This creates a potentially large dead weight loss in the economy, and likely increases the share of revenue from players with …

Comparing The Professionalization Of Pro Gamblers And Pro Video Game Players, Mark R. Johnson

Occasional Papers

This paper explores the lives and practices of professional gamblers and professional video game players. Although both sets of individuals earn their incomes through games and other broadly “playful” practices, the work identifies four significant differences in their careers and what the “everyday” of these individuals looks like. Firstly, in terms of the nature of “skill” required to progress in these careers, and how these players reflect on and understand their own skill; secondly, the role of money and “money management” in their lives, and the different rhythms of financial gain, and potentially loss; thirdly, the observation that whereas almost …

The Pr Of Csr For The Casino Industry: A Review Of Challenging Corporate Social Responsibility: Lessons For Public Relations From The Casino Industry, Andrew B. Gustafson

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

This is a review of Jessalynn Strauss' recent book, Challenging Corporate Social Responsibility: Lessons for Public Relations from the Casino Industry. Through an analysis of Casino’s CSR practices, Strauss raises some serious concerns about this alignment between CSR and PR, and provides reasons to doubt whether SCR done for strategic bottom line interests rather than purely ethical reasons will consistently accomplish what the casinos set out to achieve.