Association between employee department and responsible gambling program perceptions

ABSTRACT

Academic studies of employee perceptions of and engagement with responsible gambling (RG) provide important insight into how employees engage with RG, but typically treat employees as a singular entity. Employees in different departments, however, have different work experiences that affect their likelihood of directly interacting with gamblers. It is conceivable that degree of contact with gamblers affects employees’ opinions about RG. To examine this possibility, we surveyed cohorts of employees at MGM Resorts International (MGM) (N = 2,192) regarding their (1) perceptions of RG programs, (2) behaviors and beliefs about gambling, and (3) comfort with MGM’s corporate RG environment. Using MANCOVA, with years employed in the gambling industry as a covariate, we observed that employees in departments with less direct contact with gamblers were more likely to perceive RG programs to be effective at MGM than employees who have more direct contact with gamblers. In addition, employees who work in the Food, Beverage, & Retail departments were more likely to hold misconceptions about gambling than employees in Back of House operations. The differences in how departments view RG programs suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches to employee training might not be suitable for RG topics, and that position-based training might be necessary.

KEYWORDS:

• Casino
• gambling
• responsible gambling
• corporate social responsibility
• employment

Notes

1. Final subgroups were of sufficient size to warrant factor analysis, with a minimum 80 cases in each subgroup.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by MGM Resorts International under contract number AWD-02-00000764. At no point was the funding body involved in: the design of the study; data analysis, or interpretation; the writing of the report; or decisions relating to submissions.The authors have no financial interests in the research activities reported in this manuscript. The Division on Addiction currently receives funding from DraftKings, Inc.; the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR); the Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations via the Indian Health Service with funds approved by National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health; the Integrated Centre on Addiction Prevention and Treatment of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals/The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. During the past 5 years, the Division on Addiction has received funding from Aarhus University Hospital with funds approved by The Danish Council for Independent Research; ABMRF – The Foundation for Alcohol Research; bwin.party Digital Entertainment; Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC; the Cambridge Police Department with funds approved by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention; the David H. Bor Library Fund, Cambridge Health Alliance; DraftKings, Inc.; FAAR, Heineken USA, Inc.; Fenway Health; The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations via the Indian Health Service with funds approved by National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health; Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling; Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services; Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, National Center for Responsible Gaming, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Hong Kong, and Worcester House of Correction. Drs. Gray and LaPlante have received course royalty fees from the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education. Dr. Gray has served as a paid program evaluator for Duffy Health Center, has served as a paid grant reviewer for the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG), has received travel funds from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals/The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, has received honoraria funds for preparation of a book chapter from Universite Laval, and has received travel funds and honoraria from the NCRG. Dr. LaPlante has received travel funds from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the NCRG, and British Columbia Lottery Corp. for conference presentations; royalty funds from the American Psychological Association and Harvard Health Publications; honoraria funds for preparation of a book chapter from Universite Laval; grant review funds from the NCRG; and funds from the NCRG for participation in a think tank. Drs. Gray and LaPlante are non-paid members of the Board of Directors of the New Hampshire Council on Problem Gambling. Dr. Abarbanel has received funding (2013–2018) from the Manitoba Gambling Research Program, GP Consulting, U.S.-Japan Business Council, Wynn Las Vegas, Victoria Responsible Gambling Foundation, Bermuda Casino Gambling Commission, the State of Nevada, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, iDevelopment and Economic Association, Majestic Star Casinos, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, MGM Resorts International, and Caesars Entertainment. She has received reimbursement for travel from Association Cluster Sport International, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, International Association of Gaming Advisors, GambleAware, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Ultimate Media Ventures, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, and IGT Latin America. She is a member of the Singapore National Council on Problem Gambling International Advisory Panel, for which she receives compensation for her time. Dr. Bernhard’s work has received funding (2013–2018) from the U.S.-Japan Business Council, Wynn Resorts, Ocho Gaming, Las Vegas Sands, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Governor’s Advisory Panel on Problem Gambling, the State of Nevada Knowledge Fund, and MGM Resorts International. He has received travel and/or honoraria for presenting his research in more than two dozen countries.

Notes on contributors

Brett Abarbanel

Brett Abarbanel is Director of Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, International Gaming Institute, with a joint appointment at the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. Dr. Abarbanel’s research covers Internet gambling policy and behavior, esports and gambling, operations and technology use, and responsible gambling and community relations. Dr. Abarbanel is the co-executive editor of the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal and editorial board member at International Gambling Studies and Harvard’s Division on Addiction’s Brief Addiction Science Information Source. Dr. Abarbanel also serves on the International Advisory Panel for Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling. She is a founding director of the Nevada Esports Alliance, which promotes development of best practices at the intersection of the esports and regulated gambling industries.

Heather M. Gray

Heather M. Gray is Associate Director of Academic Affairs at the Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital, and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received her PhD in social psychology from Harvard University in 2006 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Boston University Health and Disability Research Institute. Dr. Gray joined the Division during 2008. She has collaborated with her Division colleagues to study the development of, and recovery from, addictive disorders. In collaboration with Internet and land-based gambling operators in the US and internationally, Dr. Gray has studied how people gamble and respond to interventions designed to promote responsible gambling. Dr. Gray serves as the Senior Editor of The BASIS (The Brief Addiction Science Information Source; basisonline.org). The BASIS is designed to increase awareness about addiction, reduce stigma, and ultimately improve lives.

Debi A. LaPlante

Debi A. LaPlante is Director of Research & Academic Affairs at the Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. With her colleagues, she developed the Syndrome Model of Addiction. Dr. LaPlante engaged in a 10-year research program on Internet gambling that was the first to use actual gambling records and is involved in similar research for daily fantasy sports. Dr. LaPlante currently is involved with a federally funded research program with seven tribes in the Northwest and the Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations. She also is involved with the development of the Division’s innovative assessment software, the Computerized Assessment and Referral System (CARS). Dr. LaPlante is a co-author of the Your First Step to Change self-help workbook and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Practice Guidelines for Treating Gambling-related Problems.

Bo J. Bernhard

Bo J. Bernhard serves as Executive Director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute, the world’s largest academic center dedicated to the study of gambling. In this role he oversees the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking, the largest research conference in the field. Dr. Bernhard holds professorships at both UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno, where he sits in the Satre Chair, formerly held by his mentor (and NCPG pioneer) Dr. Bill Eadington. Over his career, he has won the university’s highest teaching award (The Spanos Award) and its top research award (The Harry Reid Silver State Award).