| |
The
Straits Times, 29 Jun 04
Asia puts its chips on the gambling industry
By Glenys Sim
SUDDENLY, it seems, everyone in Asia is placing bets on gambling.
While Singapore debates the merits of having a casino on its soil,
others such as Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia are getting into
the act by relaxing or relooking their anti-gambling laws to allow
for casinos. Those which already have them, such as Macau and the
Philippines, are trying to stay ahead of the game by sprucing up what
they have to offer to the high rollers from the region.
The buzz was clear at a casino conference held in Singapore last week.
The record number of more than 1,000 participants, from gaming company
bigwigs to officials, made the event the biggest in nine years.
Quite obviously, what lies behind the surge of interest is the high
payoff on offer. Asians spend about US$14 billion (S$24 billion) a
year on gambling, including illegal betting offered by underground
operators taking advantage of tough laws. By 2010, they are expected
to spend US$23 billion on anything from blackjack, jackpot and roulette
to lotteries like 4-D in the region and beyond, industry experts at
the conference predicted.
'Asians love to gamble,' Dr Ambrose So, director of the Sociedade
de Jogos de Macau (SJM), which until last month had a monopoly on
Macau's casinos, told The Straits Times. Add to that East Asia's booming
economies, most notably China's, and the expected explosion in tourism
that will result, it is no wonder that governments are putting their
chips on the industry. It's also no wonder that Dr So's company and
the likes of United States gaming giants MGM-Mirage and Caesars Entertainment,
all here last week, are looking for elbow room at the table.
Governments are not just salivating at the taxes that betting will
bring in - one estimate is that here, they could account for as much
as a fifth of the Government's revenue - they also know that gamblers
from overseas also splurge on hotels, food and entertainment like
other tourists.
For that reason, established players are remodelling casinos-only
destinations into 'destination resorts' with all the tourist frills.
For instance, Macau's 'gambling king' Stanley Ho plans to spend US$380
million on three new trump cards, namely, Macau Fisherman's Wharf,
Ponte 16 and East-West Cultural Village. The sell: 'Macanese hybridised
culture that distinguishes it from the rest of the world and keeps
people coming back'.
The state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor),
which runs all 16 casinos in the country, is betting US$15 billion
in a mega-project on Manila Bay which will come with a theme park,
hotels, shopping malls and condominiums. Oh, there will be three casinos
there too.
Meanwhile, others are placing wagers elsewhere - just in case. Malaysia's
sole casino operator Genting Berhad, for instance, is diversifying
by boosting its power-generation business in the face of possible
competition from Thailand and Singapore.
Singapore's idea runs along the same not-just-a- casino line. The
casino will be part of giant resort and residential development in
the Southern Islands, complete with hotels and convention centres.
Besides Macau's SJM, others have stated their interest in the project:
US gaming giants like MGM-Mirage, Caesars Entertainment and Harrah's
Entertainment, Vienna-based Casinos Austria International (CAI) and
Genting Berhad. CAI's chief executive Frank McFadden said at the conference:
'Singapore's infrastructure can support the casino by extending quality
tourism, while the air links, hotels and other entertainment facilities
are already here.'
But casino operators looking to Asia say that the biggest jackpot
will be China with its growing economy and 1.2 billion people. 'Now
that China is opening up and more and more people travel more freely,
I think this is a tremendous market for everyone,' said SJM's Dr So.
For the first time last year, tourist arrivals in Macau from China
outgrew the number of visitors from Hong Kong - and visitors mostly
go to Macau for one main thing. Las Vegas casino executives think
that China will be the fastest growing source of big-time punters
who blow upwards of S$3,000 per trip and for whom casinos lay out
the red carpet.
Concerns about the social ills of gambling that make some countries
such as Singapore hesitant about casinos are being pushed aside by
the lure of this pot of gold. Some governments have chosen to lessen
the negative social impact by restricting access to some or all locals
or by locating casinos in remote areas.
Casino advocates, however, argue that those not allowed to indulge
in their poker in their home country will simply go overseas or go
online. And that those who cannot bet legally will do so underground.
Gaming consultant, Professor Andy Nazarechuk of the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas, said: 'People who have a gambling problem already
have one. It's not as if they would develop a problem once gambling
becomes legal. 'In fact, legalising it would help surface the problem.'
However valid this argument, there is little doubt that some will
find the economic argument too strong to fold on.
Even if Singapore baulks in the end, expect other countries to go
with the roll. |
|
