Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming June 2016 18 Feature In Focus Consumer tastes are driving a move away from big boxes in cities, experts say, but casino resorts on the beach can’t replace the bright lights of Macau – yet. By Muhammad Cohen M acau’s government has thrown down the gauntlet for casino concessionaires to increase non-gaming revenue. The city’s five year plan released in April sets a goal for the industry of 9% non-gaming revenue by 2020, compared with 6.6% in 2014. Not an especially demanding target, but it is the first time the government has backed its longstanding aim, which Beijing echoes, with a number and potentially some teeth as the first casino concessions expire in 2020. Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong says failure to expand non-gaming revenue can bite sooner, in the area of table gaming allocation. In an interview with Macau Business magazine published last month, Mr Leong said the government will only award new tables under the annual 3% growth cap and that it will be based on “the investment in non-gaming areas, the participation of SMEs in these projects, the capability to diversity sources of clients ... all essential factors for Macau to become a world center of tourism and leisure.” In case that didn’t come through clearly enough, last month’s G2E Asia heard Macau’s chief gaming regulator Paulo Martins Chan urge casinos to “expedite economic diversification,” declaring, “The Macau SAR government will continue to optimize Macau’s global reputation by actively promoting the non-gaming elements and increasing their share in the total revenue of Macau.” Muhammad Cohen also blogs for Forbes on gaming throughout Asia and wrote Hong Kong On Air , a novel set during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. Reinventing the integrated resort