A Singapore-based gaming manufacturer has told yogonet and Channel News Asia he believes annual casino equipment sales in Asia could hit US$ 400 million.
The opening of the two integrated resorts (IRs) in Singapore will assist in creating that windfall adds David Kinsman of Weike Gaming Technology. The potential bonanza could also benefit makers of security systems as well as tables and slots he suggests.
Most of the equipment to be used in the first phases of the two integrated resorts–Resorts World at Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands–has already been ordered and is waiting either regulatory clearance or deployment on the floor.
The recent history of Macau has shown however that opportunities arise for suppliers post-opening as operators tweak their offer in the light of hard experience on the front line of the casino floor.
One senior Macau gaming executive, who preferred not be be identified told Inside Asian Gaming: “I’ve been in the industry 20 years and I still get surprised by what works and what doesn’t work. A floor is a constantly evolving environment. Although common sense and experience teaches you the broad principles of what will work and what won’t work, you learn never to discount new ideas out of hand.”
With that kind of trial and error process, it creates not only opportunities on the floor but also commercial pressures on suppliers to allow extended trials of equipment on terms that could potentially hurt them commercially.
Industry sources tell asgam.com that Genting, the majority developer of Resorts World at Sentosa, is particularly fond of taking equipment on extended ‘trials’ leading to grumbles in some quarters that some managers within that company occasionally push the boundaries of good faith when it comes to supplier-operator partnerships.
Other companies seem much happier with the current trajectory of business out of Singapore. The 12-year-old Weike is one of many manufacturers that supplies slot machines to the two IRs in Singapore. This year, Weike is targeting a 10 to 20% growth in business. Currently, Weike says it exports about 90% of its products. Weike has high hopes however for the two new Singapore IRs and 71 slot clubs around Singapore that operate gaming machines to boost its domestic business. It is aiming to get about a third of its sales from Singapore by the end of 2011.
Although it is also venturing into Europe, Africa and Australia, Weike said Asia will still be its key market. David Kinsman, CEO, Weike Gaming Technology, said: “I estimate that in US$ 300-400 million a year of sales value across Asia, there will probably be 10,000 to 12,000 gaming machines sold each year. “Over the last 12 months, in general terms, table gaming has fallen … in Macau, but machine gaming has grown 56%. So obviously, there will be some further growth.”
Analysts say the two casinos in Singapore will have more than 3,500 slot machines and over 1,000 gaming tables – on top of the 1,600 slot machines currently found in the clubs there.
Jonathan Galaviz, an independent gaming strategist, told Channel News Asia: “Slot machines manufacturers that have grown and developed in Asia obviously have unique competitive advantages because they understand the Asian consumers and the Asian market place better.
“Slots manufacturers, who will expand from the US and Europe, could perhaps look for joint venture partners that they can work with to develop intellectual property and technologies.”
