Inside Asian Gaming

46 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2013 REGIONAL BRIEFS More Gambling Forecast for New Zealand New Zealanders are expected to be gambling more across the board over the next few years. A new study keying on problem gambling and released by the Health Ministry forecasts casino spending to grow by 2.3% through 2016, and some believe that might be conservative in light of a recent public-private agreement that allows SkyCity in Auckland substantial increases to its slots and table games inventories in exchange for funding a new convention center in the city. SkyCity is ponying up A$402 million to build the facility. The study forecasts betting on racing and sports through the Totalisator Agency Board to grow by 6.6% through 2016. Spending on Lotto and other NZ Lotteries games is forecast to grow 8%. Consultants KordaMentha estimate that the supply increases at SkyCity, combined with a government concession that allows the industry to implement cashless technologies for the first time, will generate $260 million-$330 million in incremental revenue annually. The Auckland casino will be adding up to 230 machine games to its existing 1,647, plus 40 new tables, bringing that total to 150, and up to 240 new electronic table game positions. The country’s six casinos contain 2,800 slots in all. In contrast, the study expects spending on machine games in pubs and clubs—still the largest sector of the market—to drop slightly over the next three years from $854 million last year to $849 million. The slide could be greater, say industry insiders, as more local councils act to cap machine numbers and restrict new technologies to combat problem gambling. HK Jockey Club Sets Betting Record The Hong Kong Jockey Club achieved a record HK$93.8 billion (US$12.1 billion) in handle in the 2012-13 season as reinvestment in the physical plant and aggressive marketing targeting younger patrons appear to be paying off. The total worked out to a 9% increase year on year, breaking the previous record set in 1996-97. More than 2 million people attended the 83 races. Chief Executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges called it “one of the best seasons we’ve had, ever,”one in which a number of strategic moves “helped to grow our base of racing fans significantly.” The club has invested upwards of $3 billion in the last few years to upgrade its facilities and add new restaurants and other attractions. Live music, themed party nights and wine-tasting events were launched to attract more of the city’s considerable crowd of young professionals. To draw more mainland Chinese the club also added a betting venue in Beijing. The club continues to face challenges, though, as competition from land-based casinos and Internet gambling combine with higher operating costs to bite into profit margins. The $4.5 billion in net income in 2012-13 was shy of the record $4.5 billion achieved in 1999-2000. Okada Facing Philippines Charges Philippine investigators are recommending criminal charges against Kazuo Okada and others for possible violations of a law prohibiting the use of front companies to own land. A Bloomberg report, citing a Justice Department statement issued last month, said a fact-finding panel found evidence that the Japanese billionaire, who is licensed to develop a resort casino in Manila, has used companies that aren’t qualified to be involved in such a project. Additionally, the panel named eight other Japanese nationals and 17 Filipinos as liable to be charged, some of them attorneys. The panel also investigated allegations that some US$40 million in bribes were paid to a politically connected Filipino to secure government approvals for the project but concluded there was not sufficient evidence to justify charges. Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said the panel’s work is continuing. “We built the current land-owning scheme based on advice from the Philippines’ prominent lawyers, so our understanding is that it’s legal,” said Nobuyuki Horiuchi, a spokesman for Universal Entertainment, Mr Okada’s Tokyo-based flagship. Universal has been in talks with prospective partners to assist with funding portions of the Manila casino and to help resolve the land ownership issues. A Philippine subsidiary of the company is one of four licensees authorized to develop mixed-use gaming resorts with hotels and other attractions on a government-sponsored reclamation district in the capital known as Entertainment City. Another Universal subsidiary called Eagle I is the registered owner of the company’s Entertainment City site. An opinion from the Justice Department last year said that since Eagle I is 64% controlled by Aruze USA, a company controlled by Mr Okada, it is in violation of the country’s 40% cap on foreign ownership. New Rules Batter Nepal’s Casinos Casinos in Nepal are starting to shut down in response to new moves by the government to regulate them and increase their taxes and fees. Casino Pokhara Grande located in the Pokhara Grande Hotel HK Jockey Club’s Happy Valley Racecourse Pokhara, Nepal