Risk management practices in the Maltese gaming industry : a comparative approach

Abstract

Purpose: The scope of this research is to shed light on what types of risk management strategies, if any, are implemented by gaming companies within the local sphere. These, in turn are compared to the study conducted by Dr. Frank Bezzina, Dr. Simon Grima, and Ms. Josephine Mamo (2014), titled Risk Management Practices adopted by Financial Firms in Malta. The research is divided into four themes. First and foremost, the researcher wants to identify those risk management practices gaming companies adopt in order to mitigate risks, get the most out of opportunities, and uphold financial stability. Secondly, this study wants to ascertain whether such risk management practices are seen as part of principled performance or otherwise. The third theme focuses on whether risk management strategies offer competitive advantage. The last theme revolves around corporate social responsibility, and whether this is one of the main drivers of risk management strategies within the organisation. Three other themes were put forward by the current researcher, including financial risk, strategic risk, and legal/ethical risk. Design/Methodology/Approach: A questionnaire compiled by Bezzina et al., (2014) was utilised and adopted as a structured interview for the purpose of this research. This was disseminated among thirty-two local gaming companies, including both large and smaller firms. All these gaming corporations are listed on the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) website. Globally, fourteen Maltese gaming companies partook in the research and the results were compared to the study conducted by Bezzina et al., (2014), in order to respond to the four research questions. Findings: After comparing results from the study conducted by Bezzina et al., (2014) and the current research, it could be seen that both industries adopt risk management practices. This was further outlined in the ‘financial risk’ and ‘strategic risk’ themes. A link between principled performance and risk management also prevailed. Competitive advantage was not seen as a priority in both studies. Notwithstanding this, competitiveness is still important to the gaming industry, as the latter strives to increase its economic and profitable growth. Corporate social responsibility also forms part of the risk management strategies, both within the financial and the gaming industries.