Inside Asian Gaming

November 2014 inside asian gaming 7 Cover Story All of these smaller games-makers can point to a unique provenance for the success they enjoy today. Some, like Singapore’s Weike Gaming Technology and Macau’s LT Game, leveraged their origins as operators to make some decisive calls about where they wanted to go as suppliers. The video gaming genius of the Japanese was a major influence on Taiwan’s Jumbo Technology, which began selling games into Asia’s clubmarkets whenMacau was still governed by Portugal. Aspect Gaming, a relative newcomer, was founded in Shanghai in 2008, but its management roots stretch back to Silicon Valley in the mid-’90s. The other common denominator is that they’ve all grown up with an Asian industry that is all grown up now. As it extends from Kangwon Land to Kuala Lumpur, from Manila to Myanmar, it’s an industry comprised of tens of thousands of slots and EGMs spread across upwards of 300 casinos and clubs. Nevada’s non-restricted locations number at most only a few dozen more. Macau’s slot market alone booked US$1.79 billion in revenue last year from approximately 13,100 machines, second only to baccarat. Those slots generated almost 62% of the Las Vegas Strip’s machine win with 29% of the units. This year they’re on track to break $1.9 billion. If you dropped them into the US right now they’d equate to the nation’s seventh-largest commercial casino state by revenue. Macau also accounts for a sizable majority (60%) of the 9,500 or so electronic table positions in East and Southeast Asia and will account for 65% of the growth over the next three years, according to estimates by investment brokers Union Gaming Research Macau. At that point, there will be at least 5,200 more seats region-wide than there are today, an increase of 40%. Needless to say, none of this has been lost on the multinationals, which have responded impressively, leveraging their greater resources to get up to speed fast with an array of powerfully localized products, and as far as the larger casino markets go, asserting the dominance you’d expect. That doesn’t mean the regionals are ceding any of the territory they’ve won. “Our wealth of knowledge is far superior to suppliers based outside of Asia,” contends Ned Hsu, creative director of Jumbo and chairman of sister company Alphabet, which develops a cutting-edge range of games in its own right. He sees his companies as an alternative. “We believe so because we are based in Asia, which gives us the advantage,” and as a private company, “We are more efficient and flexible when we have to adapt to regulations and requirements for a market.” Weike’s Chief Operating Officer Ray Poh also sees his geography as an edge, enabling the company to exploit what military strategists prize as interior lines of communication. “In terms of maneuvering around the market we’re probably more nimble,” he says. “Our entire team is in Asia so we don’t have to fly people in from Europe or America. We’re all based within the region. It takes us maximum Macau will account for 65% of the ETG growth in the region over the next three years. At that point, there will be at least 5,200 more seats region-wide than there are today, an increase of 40%.