Institutional anomie theory and gambling-related crime: An empirical test in Macau
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231179286 |
| Author | Mengliang Dai,Xiaoyu Zhuang,Ting Kin Ng |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Institutional anomie theory
and gambling-related crime:
An empirical test in Macau
Mengliang Dai
Faculty of Law, Macau Universityof Science and Technology, Macau SAR,
China
Xiaoyu Zhuang
Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
SAR, China
Ting Kin Ng
Department of Applied Psychology, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR,
China
Abstract
To date, scholars have rarely applied institutional anomie theory to gambling-related crime.
Using time series data on the rates of illegal gambling, money laundering, organised crime,
and drug-related crime, as well as various indicators of the economy and noneconomic social
institutions, this study tested the applicability of institutional anomie theory to gambling-
related crime. The study found that unemployment positively related to organised crime
and drug-related crime. GDP per capita is positively associated with illegal gambling crime,
organised crime, and drug-related crime. However, all social institutional variables failed to
predict gambling-related crime. Moreover, for the interaction effects, this finding also provided
limited and mixed support for the theory. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords
Institutional anomie theory, social institutions, interaction effect, gambling-related crime,
Macau
Date received: 7 September 2022; accepted: 16 May 2023
Corresponding author:
Mengliang Dai, Faculty of Law, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau SAR, China.
Email: mldai@must.edu.mo
Article
Journal of Criminology
2023, Vol. 56(2-3) 335–358
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/26338076231179286
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Introduction
As the pillar industry and the major source of tax revenue for local government, gaming has
economically and socially played a pivotal role in Macau, which has already become the
world’s casino capital. According to statistics, gross gaming revenue (gratuities excluded) in
Macau increased from MOP $43,511 billion in 2004 to MOP $293,312 billion in 2019,
even surpassing the revenue that Las Vegas casinos made. Macau’s increased GDP in the
past few years is mainly due to the gaming industry (Cortés, 2021). Macau’s per capita
GDP ranked first in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area in 2019.
1
However, the gaming industry’s development has negative consequences, such as school stu-
dents dropping out of school or not wanting to go to college because they would work in a
casino to make more money (Clayton, 2018; Hao, 2011; Wan et al., 2011). What is worse,
the gaming industry gives rise to criminal activities (Li, 2013, 2014; Liu & Zhao, 2014;
Loughlin & Pannell, 2010; Wang & Antonopoulos, 2016; Yang & Li, 2014), even in the
context of legalisation (Pontell et al., 2014). According to official statistics, the number of crim-
inal offences increased from 8162 in 1997 to 14,178 in 2019. The gambling-related crimes,
such as illegal gambling and usury, have become increasingly serious. The number of regis-
tered cases has increased by 439.87%, from 158 in 2001 to 796 in 2019.
2
Faced with such crime problems, many scholars have studied gambling-related crimes in
Macau (e.g. Leong, 2004; Li, 2013; Lo, 2005; Lo & Kwok, 2017; Pontell, Fang et al.,
2014; Pontell, Liu et al., 2022; Schloenhardt, 2008; Wang & Antonopoulos, 2016;
Zabielskis, 2015). Pontell et al. (2014), for example, examined economic and white-collar
criminal activities and case histories of offences related to Macau’s growing casino industry.
They argue that the problem of economic crime, especially corruption, has greatly weakened
the stability of the region. In short, the works contribute to our understanding of the Macau
crime phenomenon, but most of these studies tended to be atheoretical and there were few
empirical studies. The present study aims to expand current knowledge on the link between
institutional anomie and gambling-related crimes through applying institutional anomie
theory (IAT) derived from Messner and Rosenfeld (2013).
Specifically, this study applies IAT to analyse the association between the institutional
anomie and the level of gambling-related crimes in the Macau context. On the one hand,
numerous empirical studies have examined the propositions. Some support the theory;
others produce inconsistent consequences. Of these empirical tests, most were conducted in
a western context, and very few were undertaken in a non-Western context. On the other
hand, these studies mainly focused on homicide and property crime. Gambling-related
crimes have rarely been examined. As Chamlin and Cochran (1995) showed, as long as
offences are profit motivated, they fall within the scope of the theoretical approach of IAT.
Particularly, gambling-related crimes are typically income-producing offences (Adolphe
et al., 2019).
Institutional anomie theory
French sociologist Durkheim (2014) first introduced the term anomie. He argued that anomie
generally stems from a disjunction between personal standards and social standards, which
generates moral deregulation. Merton (1938, 1968) extended the concept of anomie to the cul-
tural structure and the social structure. Anomie is conceived as a breakdown in the cultural
336 Journal of Criminology 56(2-3)
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