More than two decades ago, no Pasifika participated in casino gaming in New Zealand. Since then, there has been a significant increase in participation, but there is still a lot of work to do in order to raise the profile of Pasifika players in New Zealand. This was one of the key issues discussed during the consultations that gathered input from a wide cross-section of stakeholders interested in moving forward with the development of casino land in New Zealand.
One of the key concerns was how to communicate the benefits of gaming to the communities that are most likely to be negatively affected by it. There was extensive discussion about how information about the Prosperity NS Win itiative is going to support the sponsorship of pokerlegenda clubs in Macau, and how these clubs will be operated in a safe and secure environment.
There was also input into the planning of venues for gaming, and the establishing of gaming clubs that would be able to attract players from across the range of ages, income levels and locations. provisional venues were given the go-by when stakeholders did not have finalised venue plans in place.
Although poker is popular in Macau, there wasn’t really focus on information and feedback stages, and so there was room for a little more thought on how to design an application that would be attractive, not just to Macau itself, but to the entire country. A lot of information was given on how to make applications that would be attractive to all New Zealanders, in terms of both the types of venue and stages of operation.
A comprehensive consultation was held with community groups, gaming operators and government agencies to finalise venue specific information, such as costings, dates for opening, timescales of opening and closing, attraction sizes and types of gaming offered. A genuine understanding of the impacts was achieved.
There was understanding that a greater number of poker machines would be needed in low end or predominantly low income areas, to make them attractive. This was estimated at 80,000 per year. tele communal facilities were considered and advised that providing gaming machines in pubs, restaurants and markets place would be most cost effective.
The location of these machines in low-income areas, near schools were also considered because of the existing penetration of game playing, as students would not have to walk a long way to find them. This was positive because of the ages of the individuals playing, as younger players were less likely to have cars and thus be stationary while playing.
The next phase on the Macau land was the allocation of casino space Furtherance Auckland, which is the city’s largest hotel. The endered casino was given the task and task of developing casino spaces that would be attractively located near the airport, and cultural attractions, and significant cultural attractions in Auckland. The idea behind this was to create more leisure facilities in Auckland, as a way of supporting the already growing casino industry.
Casino Stuffing
In the next phase, which is currently in its infancy, Macau decided to ask the questions: What will happen with the slots? How do we manage the transition from gaming to gambling? What are the market forces that we have to take into account? After nearly ten years of existence, it is fair to say that the answers to these questions are yet to be seen. The question of whether or not slots will be around in 2040 is open to speculation.
While the fate of slots is uncertain, the fate of gaming is not. Gaming activity is growing at rate which would fill a nominated market. The number of Table gaming sites in Macau has grown from 13 in 2000 to more than 30 in 2005. Macau in 2040 could have the largest casino population in the world. It is only a matter of time before a nominated gaming destination becomes the largest gambling haven in the world.