Inside Asian Gaming

March 2014 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 15 In Focus like dirt, dust, mold, spores and pollen. Eleven casinos failed in this category, all operated under the SJM concession. Three of them are directly operated by SJM—Casino Lisboa, the monopoly era flagship whose original structure dates back to 1970, Casino Oceanus and the adjoining Casino Jai Alai. (Jai Alai has since closed for remodeling.) PM2.5 is of greater concern because these smaller particles are produced by toxic organic compounds and heavy metals— tobacco smoke is a leading source—and because, being smaller, they burrow deeper into the lungs. Researchers suggest that even short-term exposure at elevated concentrations can significantly contribute to heart disease. To get an idea of the risks a croupier in Macau might encounter on a given day, it’s been estimated that a bartender working around smokers passively inhales the equivalent of 10 cigarettes during an eight-hour shift. The American Medical Association associates PM2.5 with high vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis, the cause of a range of cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks. The World Health Organization blames it for about 3% of deaths from cardiopulmonary disease, about 5% of deaths from cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lungs and about 1% of deaths from acute respiratory infections in children under 5. To get an idea of the risks a croupier in Macau might encounter on a given day, it’s been estimated that a bartender working around smokers passively inhales the equivalent of 10 cigarettes during an eight-hour shift. with the atmosphere of a room. The smallest can range from“gaseous contaminants” at 0.001 micrometers and viruses at less than 0.01 micrometers to bacteria at 0.5-10.0, mold spores, which can grow as large as 100 micrometers, and heavy dust, which can be big enough to be visible. The Health Bureau tested for 10 micrometers and 2.5 micrometers. The former (PM10, as it’s known) includes coarser stuff Smoking Bans — What We Know, What We Don’t Where research has purported to turn up pronounced linkages between gambling and smoking, psychologists refer to this as “co- morbidity,” a problem with impulse control that heavy smokers, problem gamblers and alcoholics share in common. The American Gaming Association, the national lobbying arm of the US casino industry, asserted some years back that in Nevada the proportion of gamblers who smoked was as high as 70%, more than triple the rate of the population at large. Academics disputed this, and probably it was inordinately high. At the time the AGA was fighting an attempted statewide smoking ban that ultimately was defeated. Australia’s National Institute of Economic and Industry Research looked at this back in 2003whenNewSouthWales,Victoria and other stateswere leading the way for most of the world in eradicating smoking in public places. Their analysis showed no difference between the proportion of smokers and non- smokers who played machines games in Victoria. They did, however, find that smokers gambled on average three times more per capita than non-smokers. In a statewhose smoking prevalence rate at the timewas just over 20%, betting and gambling operator Tattersalls determined that 36% of its gamingmachine players were smokers and they contributed 50% of revenues. Where the linkage seems this clear-cut, smoking restrictions should be readily quantifiable in visitation numbers and revenue results. Yet, this hasn’t been the case. In fact, it has hardly been studied. Isle of Man-based Global Betting and Gaming Consultants aimed to rectify this about six years ago at a time when smoking bans were sweeping the European Union and Scotland had banned it in its casinos and bingo halls and England and Wales were soon to follow. Their study found that in Australia and New Zealand and those US casinos where smoking had been banned, gaming revenues initially dropped between 10 and 20%. The effects tended to be more significant where nearby markets offered smokers convenient alternatives, as they did in Ontario, Canada, which competes with several casinos on the American side of the border, and in US states such as Delaware, which is a couple hours’ drive from Atlantic City. Ontario’s decision to declare smoking off limits in all enclosed public places in 2006 would cost it as much as C$500 million in gaming tax a year, according to a forecast by the province’s Ministry of Economic Development. Conversely, GBGC found that spend eventually recovers, albeit from a lower base. They cited the instance of a US poll in which 31% of casino customers said they would visit more often if their favorite gambling hall was smoke-free, compared with 11% who said they would go elsewhere. Singapore’s casinos provide special areas for non-smokers, as do others in Asia, and the restaurants, shops and convention and entertainment facilities in the two Singapore megaresorts must comply with the city- state’s no-smoking laws. Aside from this, no market in Asia outside Macau has attempted to tackle the problem in a comprehensive way. Late in 2012, there were investment analysts looking ahead to this and predicting a fall-off of several percentage points of gaming revenue in Macau. Instead, the first year in which the restrictions were in force saw revenues surge almost 19%.Thirteenmonths in, February set a newmonthly record at $4.8 billion, an increase of 40.3% over February 2013. Through the first two months of this year, gaming revenue is up almost 24%.