Macau Gaming Operators and the Pandemic: Corporate Social Responsibility is Changing

Traditionally, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been understood as difficult to reconcile with the gaming industry. However, in recent years, there has been increasing pressure in Macau for gaming operators to take a more active role in assuring the full development of the Region. The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated the importance of CSR in Macau and provided a window into understanding the extent to which current gaming operators can be expected to voluntarily assume a role in achieving social and economic goals. By evaluating the CSR activities of the Macanese gaming operators in the 2020–2021 period, this article argues that gaming operators had a prompt reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak, which hints at the strong potential for these operators to contribute to the achievement of public policies. However, the evaluation of their CSR approach during this period must consider the proximity to the retendering process of current concessions and the discussions taking place around a revision to the Macanese Gaming Law. These arguably gave operators strong incentives to be particularly proactive in their outreach initiatives during this time.