Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) has recently published the first issue of Global Gaming & Tourism Research (Serial No.3) of 2021. This current issue of the Journal covers academic papers on gaming and tourism with contributing authors from the United Kingdom, Mainland China and Macao. The journal aims to promote the sustainable development of the gaming and tourism industry and to provide support for science-based decision-making across the government and gaming sectors. This academic journal seeks to serve as an exchange platform for gaming and tourism research work.

“Prevalence versus Participation: What Should Be Highlighted in Reports on National Surveys of Problem Gambling?” written by world-renowned gaming researchers and professors David Forrest and Ian McHale proposes that problem gambling surveys should pay more attention to the participation rate rather than the prevalence rate. The participation rate refers to the proportion of problem gamblers participating in a certain gambling activity, and the prevalence rate refers to the proportion of problem gamblers among the participants. The prevalence rate may ignore a high proportion of problem gamblers in certain gaming forms due to the “low” proportion of problem gamblers displayed in the participating population. This paper is of great significance for how to further improve the practice of responsible gambling.

Researchers from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the public’s willingness to accept new types of gambling. The study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the willingness of research participants to accept new types of gambling.  This finding also indicates that timing plays an important role when it comes to making sensitive decisions about gambling or the lottery.

“Research on the Development of the Leisure Market for the Elderly in Macao Based on the Flow Theory” written by PhD student Li Ke and Prof. Zeng Zhonglu of the Macao Polytechnic Institute provides a theoretical underpinning for social gaming for the elderly. Flow Theory refers to a state of complete immersion in an activity that might make people oblivious to the world around them, and this flow experience can increase people's sense of well-being. The generation of flow is not limited to the young. Elderly people who participate in leisure activities can also get such experience. If social-oriented gaming could be developed and targeted for the increasing number of the elderly in Macao, it will not only enable Macao's gaming industry to develop a new market but also contribute to the well-being of the elderly.

“Research on the M&A and Social Responsibility Performance of Lottery Operators” written by Prof. Li Gang and Deng Xiao of Shanghai Normal University takes Australia-based Tabcorp’s takeover of Tatts as an example to study the relationship between the M&A of lottery operators and social responsibility performance. This article found that the M&A could bring positive social responsibility performance to business enterprises, and this research also provides certain references for the improvement of social responsibility performance among gaming companies.

“Research on the Application of Hotel Robot and Technological Unemployment Panic under the Revolution of AI” written by Liang Shaohua and Lai Jiawei of City University of Macau explores how the applications of hotel robots lead to technological unemployment by investigating 18 five-star hotels in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The results showed that most of the surveyed hotels had not used robots, and the industry generally believed that robots could replace human employees in standardized, programmed, and repetitive work, but human employees were still needed for humanized and personalized services. It is argued that technological unemployment caused by robot applications would exist to a certain extent without excessive worry.

“A Review of Macao Gaming Tourism Research and Its Outlook” written by Ip Kin Anthony Wong, Wu Lishan Lisa and Huang Guoqiong Ivanka of  Sun Yat-sen University summarizes the important literature of gaming tourism over the past 30 years and discusses the feasibility, effectiveness and necessity of gaming tourism development. It further discusses the research direction of gaming tourism in the post-epidemic era in the context of sudden major public health issues, especially in the change of consumer travel motivation, innovation of casino recovery products, and new research ideas in the deconstruction and construction of gambling legality.

Global Gaming & Tourism Research is published semi-annually and covers such key areas as management and development strategies concerning gaming and tourism. The Journal welcomes contributions by experts from home and abroad. For enquiries, please contact Zeng Zhonglu (Professor of the Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies and the Editor-in-Chief) at 8893 6229. Articles can be submitted to: globalgaming@ipm.edu.mo.