The impact of the gaming industry on young people in Macau.doc

The impact of the gaming industry on young people in MacauThe impact of gaming industry on young people in Macau has been profound. Nowadays, Gaming industry is the backbone of Macaus economy. As the most popular gaming destination in Asia, Macau gaming revenue earns nearly $ 33.5 billion and contributes nearly 90% of GDP in Macau in 2011 1. In this social environment, many young people prefer to work for the gaming industry for their livelihood because of high salaries. Serving gambling is not only their work, but also a part of their life.If all the residents are dependent on one industry, is this good for the society and young people? As the unemployment rate is lower and the wealth increases dramatically in the recent years, some young Macanese croupiers feel satisfied with their present conditions. According to Lam, associate professor of marketing at the University of Macau, “Such opportunities in Macaus tiny marketplace have made some of our croupiers and casino executives cocky and complacent 2.” His study reflects that the young Macanese have poor work attitude and they lack sense of crisis and self-enhancement. However, with the boom of gaming industry, young Macanese are limited to the gambling working environment and few of them can realize that they are still inexperienced and they do not have enough expertise to begin different careers.Some people claim that the impact on young people is positive because young Macanese croupiers can get high salaries from gaming industry to improve living conditions. The monthly starting salary for casino dealers is 12,000 to 14,000 patacas and they can get more than 20,000 when they have been trained 3. Moreover, since the gambling industry began to boom, young people have more opportunities to get jobs. In addition, for the government to raise large sums of money from gaming industry and redistribute them to provide good public services including psychology and education assistance would help young Macanese have better future.However, the current prosperity might be water under the bridge. Macaus casino and gambling revenues climb 42% in 2011 which is slower than the 57.8% recorded in 2010 4. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the slowdown in economic growth in the mainland. We can predict a potential economic crisis in Macau if there is economic deterioration in China. Furthermore, some studies show that nowadays the gambling boom in Macau mainly benefits from the rampant corruption in China. More than half of the high-stakes gamblers are either government officials or junior managers in state-owned enterprises. On average, they lost $3.3 million in the casino but their purpose is actually money laundering 5. Nevertheless, recent Communist Party congress held in Beijing will elect new leaders. They might realize that the U.S. casino companies in Macau have made huge profits from Chinese citizens who lose their money outside the mainland. Thus they could try to introduce policies such as restriction on taking money to Macau in order to curb the rampant corruption 6. Based on the above, the Macau gambling industry has a potential crisis in the future which will spread to young people in Macau. Once they lost their jobs in casino, it will be difficult for them to make a living because of their minimal experience and knowledge in other field. The government should recognize the potential problem and provide some vocational training for young people.1 “Macau Economy Profile 2012”, CIA World Factbook, July 19, 2012. Online. Available:/macau/economy_profile.html2 Desmond Lam, “ I Quit! Managing Macaus New Generation of Spoiled Casino Employees,” MacauDaily Times, para.1, April 26, 2011. Online. Available:.mo/china/24578-Quit-Managing-Macaus-New-Generation-Spoiled-Casino-Employees.html3 “Card dealer” From Inside Story, Jan.22, 2008 ATV, HONG KONG Production Video4 “Macaus casino and gambling revenues climb 42% in 2011,” BBC News, para.7, January 4, 2012. Online. Available:http:/www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-164054175 A. Higgins, “Macaus gambling windfall hints at high stakes in China,” Washington Post Foreign Service, para.19, February 13, 2011. Online. Available:/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/13/AR2011021302476_2.html6 K. CHAN, “Writer Chinas