DIFFERENCES OF RESIDENTS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT NON-CASINO GAMING IN URBAN COMMUNITIES: A STUDY IN HONG KONG
LUO Jia-qi1,2, BAO Ji-gang1
1. School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;
2. School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, China
Abstract Non-casino gaming, such as mark six lottery, horse racing, and football betting, is considerably increasing in Hong Kong. This work follows Western studies and uses survey to explore the attitudes and perceptions of Hong Kong residents on non-casino gaming in urban communities of Hong Kong. The research follows a standard quantitative research procedure. The measurement items in the questionnaire were obtained from both literature and some qualitative methods such as focus group and semi-structural interviews. A total of 603 valid questionnaires were collected in the survey. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, and one-way ANOVA in SPSS were conducted to analyze the data. In general, the residents showed conservative attitudes toward non-casino gaming. The residents also considered that non-casino gaming plays an important role in Hong Kong economy. The attitudes and perceptions of the residents toward non-casino gaming vary according to gender, age, educational level, and occupation e.g., women perceived stronger negative impacts and the middle class in the society perceived stronger positive and negative impacts). The group that displayed most support for non-casino gaming had the following characteristics:male, middle-aged or older, married, and had completed tertiary education. The different perceptions of Hong Kong residents depend on the perceived positive impact, perceived negative impact, gambling behavior, support level to gaming as well as community attachment and power related to gaming. Specific groups of people support the gaming industry and perceive more positive impacts mainly because they are enjoying the benefit they obtain. This study provides information on the development of diversified leisure activities in mainland China and helps policymakers in creating appropriate strategies for future planning.
2014, Vol. 29 
