Barriers for people with disabilities in visiting casinos

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers identified by people with disabilities in visiting casinos. Design/methodology/approach – Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 people with disabilities recruited from the investigator's clinical and community networks and personal referrals, and 18 casino supervisors and dealers who attended a casino diploma course offered by a university. The data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Findings – The results indicated that customers with disabilities faced physical, human and financial barriers during their visit to casinos. The six barriers that were commonly identified by all participants included: the physical barriers in game playing; insufficient facilities and accessibility; insufficient space; entrance blockage; poor staff service; and insufficient information and communication. There were two other barriers reported only by the participants with disabilities – social exclusion and financial barriers. Differences in comparison to the barriers that this market segment had encountered in other tourism contexts are also discussed. Research limitations/implications – The sample is limited to Macao participants and the sample size is small. Practical implications – This study offers recommendations for casino operators and government authorities with regard to specific physical, financial and interpersonal means to alleviate apparent difficulties faced by people with disabilities when visiting a casino. Originality/value – This study fills the research void in the literature regarding the barriers encountered by people with disabilities in visiting a casino. It also broadcasts the genuine voice of this market segment.