Award Date

5-1-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

William F. Harrah College of Hospitality

First Committee Member

Brett Abarbanel

Second Committee Member

Bo Bernhard

Third Committee Member

Mehmet Erdem

Fourth Committee Member

Shane Kraus

Number of Pages

90

Abstract

Many studies have shown that casino employees are at-risk gamblers, but limited research on this topic has been conducted in Asia. Given the unique gambling setting of Macao, it would be meaningful to investigate the gambling behaviors among VIP Hosts, who play an important role in the gaming market. Specifically, the present study examined the relationship between problem gambling, cognitive distortions, and potential risk and protective factors. The author used a snowball technique to recruit participants and an online survey to collect data. A total of 41 responses were included in the data analysis. The results showed that VIP Hosts tended to have high problem gambling scores compared to the general population. Although a series of factors associated with problem gambling and cognitive distortions were introduced in the hypotheses, none of them were found statistically significant in affecting VIP Hosts’ gambling behaviors or cognitions. The findings of the current study did not support the view that cognitive distortions could predict problem gambling. Hence, both gaming operators and regulators should realize that the prevalence of problem gambling among VIP Hosts is relatively high. Also, the findings suggested that a nuanced approach to Responsible Gaming (RG) training might be more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach. Nonetheless, future research is needed to validate these conclusions due to the limitations associated with the current study.

Keywords

Casino Employees; Cognitive distortions; Gambling; Macao; Problem gambling

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

981 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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