Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING AUGUST 2018 10 The next step forward for Macau’s casinos? www.asgam.com W ATCHING developments from afar, it has certainly been an exciting few months for the American gaming industry, starting with the roll-out of legal sports betting across a number of US states after the Supreme Court struck down PASPA and culminating in a record breaking World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, attracting 123,865 entrants across 78 events. Sports betting and poker are kindred spirits within the gaming world in that they have a clear skill element, distinguishing them from traditional casino games and most other types of gambling. For those like me who enjoy dabbling in both, they provide a level of engagement that simply can’t be found playing baccarat or roulette. But following the positive progress of the sports betting and poker industries in the US inevitably reminded me of the distinct lack of progress in Macau where they continue to be stifled by regulation. I’ve always found it baffling that in the number-one gaming jurisdiction in the world, home to 42 casinos at time of writing, these two gaming sectors have basically been frozen out. And it doesn’t look like the situation will change any time soon. Macau’s one and only sports betting concessionaire, Macau SLOT – owned by Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings – has held a monopoly on the sector since its launch in 1988, even though its reach is restricted to around a dozen small outlets in and around SJM casinos. Regulations also restrict betting to just two sports, football and basketball. The prospect of liberalizing the Macau sports betting industry has been raised in the past with a number of operators expressing their interest in opening a sportsbook inside their casinos should the opportunity arise. For one brief moment in 2015 it even appeared that such a plan might be on the cards when the DICJ extended Macau SLOT’s license by just 12 months. Instead, one year later it was announced that Macau SLOT had been granted a five-year extension of its monopoly concession through to 5 June 2021. Poker in Macau faces a different problem in the form of the government’s table cap, which restricts the number of new tables that can be granted Macau-wide to 3% compound annual expansion from a starting base of 5,485 tables in 2012. The current cap runs for 10 years to the end of 2022. Despite calls to have poker tables made exempt from the cap, for now they still count towards each property’s table allowance. Combined with the fact that poker doesn’t rake in cash at the same rate as other games, it has become an easy kill for operators needing to make the most of every square meter of gaming floor. Little wonder then that poker rooms in Macau have typically suffered a short lifespan, with two having been shut down in the past few months alone – including the popular PokerStars LIVE Macau room at City of Dreams. As an aside, I don’t subscribe to the theory that “poker doesn’t make money”. On the contrary, a poker room done right – of which Asia has its fair share – will inevitably attract players who tend to be cashed up and more than happy to spend some time at the gaming tables while on property. But I digress. Macau’s government has spent the past three years pushing its ambition to become the “World Center of Tourism and Leisure” with diversification of the city’s offerings high on the agenda. That diversification should also extend to casino floors – a win both for players looking for more variety and operators in search of new customers. Ben Blaschke Managing Editor We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to bb@asgam.com. EDITORIAL