Governance and strategies of gambling business in Southeast Asia

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Abstract

Numerous nations are worried about adolescent gambling addiction and challenges associated with gambling. Therefore, they have developed strategies to address these concerns (Dixon et al., 2016). This study aims to evaluate gambling management structures in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand, and to compare educational-based gambling prevention strategies established in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau to find the best successful strategy for Thai students. For data collection, qualitative techniques such as document analysis and in-depth interviews were employed. The results indicate that the success of gambling management in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau is attributable to the collaboration of many sectors and the allocation of sufficient budgets. Gambling concerns are controlled completely by the government in Thailand, yet there are no government entities specifically responsible for gambling issues, creating management complications. In addition, a lack of finances may lead to poor management planning. The aforementioned three nations have achieved success in preventing gambling by employing strong national programmes and strategies. The objective of these programmes is to assist at-risk students in overcoming or preparing for addiction issues. Thailand must prioritise education on gambling, financial literacy, and collaboration of all relevant agencies to achieve success in gambling management and prevention.

Keywords: Adolescent Gambling, Educational-Based Gambling Prevention Programmes, Gambling Management, Governance, Southeast Asia

Authors’ individual contribution: The Author is responsible for all the contributions to the paper according to CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) standards.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements: The Author gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Center for Gambling Studies, Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University. The Author is deeply grateful for advice from Prof. Pasuk Phongpaichit, Ph.D., Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University; Assoc. Prof. Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, Chairman of the Government-Appointed Committee on Disparities; Assoc. Prof. Nualnoi Treerat, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University; and Dr. Mano Laohavanich, Honorary Advisor to the Commission for Poverty Eradication and Inequality Reduction of the Senate of Thailand. Thanks are also due to Itsaree Phaksipaeng, Ph.D., for support in data collection and research assistance. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this research successful.

JEL Classification: J13, L83

Received: 05.04.2022
Accepted: 09.09.2022
Published online: 13.09.2022

How to cite this paper: Sonsuphap, R. (2022). Governance and strategies of gambling business in Southeast Asia. Corporate & Business Strategy Review, 3(2), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbsrv3i2art5