Business up, but operators wary of spending

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October 15, 2020

Business up, but operators wary of spending — Generic bar with slot machine

Revenue and sentiment amongst Australia’s slot venue operators has improved significantly, though many are still wary about loosening the purse strings to pay for new products, according to an annual slot machine survey from J.P. Morgan.

The survey found that only 32 percent of casinos and pubs said they will maintain their spending on replacements, down from 50 percent in 2019. This indicates they are “quite cautious on spend levels due to Covid-19.”

Only 23 percent said they would actually increase spending, compared with 37 percent in 2019, while 45 percent said they would decrease their replacement budget, that’s down from 13 percent in last year’s survey.

When it comes to conversions, 42 percent said they would increase spending, down from 78 percent in 2019. A total of 53 percent said they would remain the same, up from 21 percent in 2019.

“Conversions are seen as a strong cost focus from casinos and pubs as they serve an efficient way for operators to update their floors,” the survey said.

While the news on spending won’t be music to suppliers’ ears, it wasn’t all doom and gloom from the sector.

Overall, the venues noted an increase in customer spending from last year, with 55 percent saying they saw an increase, compared with 32 percent noting higher spending last year. This was especially true in bigger venues, which represent 86 percent of those in the survey, and who said spending was up by 10 percent.

The operators were also feeling more confident about the future, even though they’re keeping a tight control of budgets.

The firm polled operators in July and again in October. In July they were generating 48 percent of 2019 revenue, while that increased to 72 percent in October. In July, 48 percent of operators expected revenues to take 12 to 24 months to recover, while now only 21 percent believe it will take that long. Forty two percent expect normal revenues in less than six months.

When it comes to market share, and operator perceptions, Aristocrat Entertainment retained the top slot and “earned an overwhelming majority of top ranks in our survey in terms of performance and share gains.”

IGT and Scientific Games were the next best performers based on rankings assigned, followed by Konami and Ainsworth.

Slot operators more optimistic as revenue improves

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

Operators of Australia’s slot parlours are more optimistic about recovery now than in July, as revenues have improved, according to J.P. Morgan’s 11th annual slot survey.

The firm polled operators in July and again in October. In July they were generating 48 percent of 2019 revenue, while that increased to 72 percent in October. In July, 48 percent of operators expected revenues to take 12 to 24 months to recover, while now only 21 percent believe it will take that long. Forty two percent expect normal revenues in less than six months.

SiGMA to run virtual European event November 24-25

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

SiGMA Group said its November event, SiGMA Europe Virtual Expo online event will run from the 24th to 25th and will focus on the European gaming and tech marketplace. The event will take place over a custom-designed virtual platform.

SiGMA to run virtual event from Nov. 24th-25th

Endorphina introduces futuristic slot

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

Endorphina is a popular slot game provider known for its creative twists and trendy games and its releases feature an incredible range of slots, each with characteristics that will appeal to every type of player, leaving no one behind.

Continuing its ambitious march around the world, Endorphina proposes its slot in multiple languages and includes a great bonus tool, which allows a high level of transparency and flexibility to deduct the bonus cost with Free Spins.

Its recent futuristic slot – The Rise of AI – has been extremely popular in Asian cultures due to its unique symbols and daring theme taking place in the heart of Tokyo. This is a 5-reel, 3-row, 10 pay line slot game that brings players right into a new cyber world packed with robots, cyborgs, neon lights, techno music and many uncertainties.

The futuristic symbols reveal what life would be like in a truly anti-utopian cyber world that only seems to exist in Sci-Fi novels. This slot, its features, and its Risk Game provides an out of this world experience. Especially for those Japanese Sci-fi lovers and players who are experienced in cryptocurrencies, this is definitely the best choice.

Set in 2050, the world has just recovered from a pandemic and is under the control of an AI. Players will be engaged to find out if their heroes will survive, win big, and to uncover what the future has in store for them.

East & West virtual expo reconnects the industry

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

With free passes for visitors and flexible stands for exhibitors, BetConstruct’s East & West virtual expo reconnected the industry and created the largest virtual gathering accessible to everyone involved in gaming and sports betting.

On the first day of the expo, industry giants and supporters showcased the best new products and technologies at personalised interactive stands and joined the talks on talent acquisition and industry innovation at the Conference Hall.

By day two, the success of East & West was already abundantly clear. Building on the event’s momentum, BetConstruct has now decided to give its exhibitors an opportunity to further explore the capacities of the platform and hold digital presentations, virtual exhibitions and product showcases during the whole month of October absolutely free of charge.

Commenting on the announcement, Vigen Badalyan, CEO and founder of BetConstruct, said: “Just like anyone, we miss physical exhibitions, the opportunities to see each other, network and have a glass of wine to seal the deal. In vino veritas, as we all know. Although we don’t know when the consequences of the pandemic will pass and allow us to meet again, our East & West virtual expo presented a compelling model for how industry events can be organised in force majeure situations in the future.

“For East & West we created the best tools to bring life and excitement to the virtual exhibition. We attracted key industry players under one virtual roof and with their help and support, BetConstruct will perfect said tools. 250+ exhibitors, including our business partners NetEnt, Playtech, EGT Interactive, eBET, SBC, Sportel and ICE were the first to test out our software, step into the virtual floors of East & West and say their first virtual hello to the visitors of the expo.”

Macau casinos ripe for digital yuan adoption?

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

Macau might have an important role to play in the launch of China’s digital yuan if the city’s casinos adopt the currency instead of the Hong Kong dollar, according to analysts.
China is accelerating the launch of the digital yuan in the Greater Bay Area with a special pilot in Shenzhen.

Analysis: Macau casinos might be fertile ground for digital yuan (Macau Daily Times)

New airport to improve access to Dara Sakor megaproject

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

The Dara Sakor International Airport, capable of handling long-haul aircraft such as Boeing 777s, will open in 2021 improving international access to the mammoth Dara Sakor Resort project in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province. The resort includes residential apartments, hotels and casinos.

Luxury new international airport to be operational by mid-2021 (Khmer Times)

Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Trouble in Paradise?

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AGBrief Editorial

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October 15, 2020

Good morning.

Is there trouble in Paradise? The South Korean media has been hinting that the nation’s leading private casino firm is struggling to boost its liquidity and having little success in these efforts so far. Paradise, of course, operates four foreigner-only casinos in the country at a time when international travel restrictions have largely cut it off from its customer base. We also have our eye on the potential impact of the national elections in New Zealand and we offer the bold views of analysts who project that Mainland China’s attitude toward the gaming industry may undergo radical shifts in the decade ahead.

First, the news

Resorts World Genting open , but monitoring latest outbreak
Hyatt hotel planned for Resorts World NYC
Investor group calls for departure of Crown board members
Crown Resorts cuts off Packer’s access to confidential information
The Star to make second application for Sydney waterfront development
Aquis says business back to pre-shutdown levels
China law more bad news for junkets
Macau casino stocks hit by fears of China legal revisions
IMF projections now see 53.5% drop in Macau’s annual GDP
Four Seasons Macao suites tower opens for business
Air Macau receives three-year exclusive concession extension
Macau accommodation prices down 14.7% in third quarter
Paradise Co. facing investor disinterest in bond issue
Shinhwa World labor union demands worker protections against smokers
Suncity completes acquisition of nearly 70% of Summit Ascent
Online operators pulling out of Andhra Pradesh after local ban
Thailand, Malaysia step up anti-online gambling efforts
PAGCOR mulls regulated online cockfights
Auckland Council votes to keep the lid on pokies
Leadstar Media expands in NZ, eyes Australia
Magazine hints senior ruling party executive aims to profit from Wakayama IR
Tokyo court rejects lawmaker Akimoto’s bail request
Okinawa politician seeks to join ruling party after taking 500 Dot Com bribe
Fincy explains Yatai withdrawal, denies online gambling
Imperial Pacific facing fresh complaint for non-payment of official fees
Taiwan upholds guilty verdicts on cops who protected casinos

What you need to know

Trouble in Paradise?

Hints continue to emerge in the Korean media that Paradise Co. may be in a rather deep financial crisis, with the latest word being that investors are keeping their distance as the firm struggles to increase its liquidity. Creditors and investors have apparently become nervous about the casino company because it seems that Paradise Co.’s fixed expenses are relatively high, and the firm is thus expected to take a financial pummeling each month until better sales results return. The Korean media reports that investors completely rejected their latest opportunity to buy Paradise Co. bonds in spite of the relatively high 2.2 percent to 3.3 percent interest rate being offered. As Paradise Co, plays such a major role in South Korea’s gaming industry, by far its largest private enterprise, its troubles cannot be overlooked.

As China’s threats against gambling continue to reverberate throughout the industry in Asia, some executives are prepared to make a prediction that Beijing will ultimately give up its efforts to crackdown and instead regulate within its borders. In the present climate that seems like a particularly bold forecast, as policymakers in Beijing meet this week to review a law that will criminalize anyone seeking to lure Chinese into gambling. The National People’s Congress is discussing an amendment to criminal law that will involve targeting cross border gambling activities. No further details were available as to how the law will be applied and when it will come into force. Despite this, three participants on a G2E Asia webinar on Wednesday concurred that ultimately Beijing will change course.

Insights

DEEP DIVE:

Greens seen as gambling wild card in NZ elections

New Zealand’s main political parties are unlikely to change the gambling landscape post general elections that end on Saturday, although the picture may be different if the hard left Green Party becomes part of the government. The Green Party, which currently only plays a supporting role, is seen as likely to push hard for tighter restrictions on online gambling and a crackdown on pokies and any social harm caused by gambling. Voting has been underway for two weeks and ends with the traditional polling day on Saturday; nearly sixty percent of eligible voters will have already voted in advance.

NIPPON WEEKLY:

Japan’s local governments need global view

The reactions of the various local governments to the nine-month delay in the national IR development timeline was instructive. On the one hand, you had the Osaka leaders describing the delay as both “reasonable” and even “welcome,” while on the other hand, in the prefecture next door, Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka denounced the schedule change in strong terms, saying, “I am very dissatisfied and this is quite regrettable as the prefecture worked as hard as we could to meet the national government’s original schedule.” There are a variety of factors that may have shaped these disparate responses, but the one we will focus on here regards the sources of the prefectural leaders’ information.

Supplier Special

Novomatic Asian progressives add colour

With a gaming show calendar full of postponed and cancelled events, there was little opportunity to present the growing range of NOVOMATIC Progressives to a broader audience, face-to-face – but, nonetheless, there’s plenty to see.

Interblock elevates excitement with Golden Ball

Interblock’s latest innovation on the classic Roulette game, combining both mechanical challenges and software ingenuity, is the Golden Ball. It was first launched at G2E Las Vegas 2019 and ICE London 2020 on the MiniStar Roulette platform, taking on Interblock’s unique Roulette ball changer magazine.

AGB Initiatives

AGB Webinar Attracting Players, Not Fraudsters

Your Daily Asia Gaming eBrief: Trouble in Paradise?

MEMBERSHIP | MAGAZINE | ASEAN | CAREERS

Japan’s local governments need global view

By

Michael Penn

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October 15, 2020

The reactions of the various local governments to the nine-month delay in the national IR development timeline was instructive.

On the one hand, you had the Osaka leaders describing the delay as both “reasonable” and even “welcome,” while on the other hand, in the prefecture next door, Wakayama Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka denounced the schedule change in strong terms, saying, “I am very dissatisfied and this is quite regrettable as the prefecture worked as hard as we could to meet the national government’s original schedule.”

There are a variety of factors that may have shaped these disparate responses, but the one we will focus on here regards the sources of the prefectural leaders’ information.

Governor Nisaka has effectively admitted through his response that he made a mistake. Even amidst all of the uncertainty of this most unusual year, Wakayama had apparently continued to take its cues from the central government in Tokyo.

Was there any lessening of the government’s commitment to IR development? No. Was the central government planning to delay the application period? No.

It’s safe to assume that the Wakayama government diligently sounded out their contacts in Tokyo at every stage and were repeatedly assured that there was no change in the upcoming plans. Nisaka’s angry and very public response demonstrates that he feels a sense of betrayal about being misled.

How very different was the response of the Osaka leaders, who essentially just shrugged about the delay in the national timeline, and clearly anticipated that it was inevitable. They were pleased that a new plan—a more credible plan—was now on the table.

Part of what accounts for the difference is that Osaka leaders clearly have a more global vision than the Wakayama governor. Instead of looking to Tokyo to interpret reality for them, they took a more comprehensive view, seeing the deep effects of the Covid-19 pandemic around the world. The Osaka leaders were probably also in communication with MGM Resorts and the Orix Corporation, the only bidders for the Yumeshima site, and better understood the financial challenges that these firms have been facing this year.

By contrast, Wakayama has been proceeding this year with a nearly reckless inattention to the needs of the interested operators. Both Groupe Lucien Barrière and Bloomberry Resorts, which had been working patiently for many months to build their links with the local community, were effectively pushed aside because of the inflexible timeline that Wakayama imposed, ignoring the fact that their company executives at the time couldn’t even leave their homes due to pandemic lockdowns.

In the end, only the Suncity Group, which has arisen from Macau’s junket industry, and the Clairvest Group of Canada were able to keep their foot in the door. One suspects that neither firm is really able to give the Wakayama authorities the global perspective that MGM and Orix might have been able to transmit to Osaka.

Taking the lesson even further, we come to a point we’ve had to underline again and again; which is that for Japan to be successful in the competitive and often difficult IR industry, it simply will not be sufficient to maintain the parochial, Japan-focused outlook that is so common in this country. Like the good example of the Osaka leaders in this case, local leaders who want to host IRs will need to turn their eyes to the wider Asian region and beyond if they hope to draw in those massive foreign tourist revenues that are dancing in their minds.

Each local government hosting an IR would be wise to develop their own thinktanks with staff who cultivate deep specialization, rather than rely on prefectural and city bureaucrats who will be transferred in and out of the IR affairs office every few years in routine personnel reshuffles.

The mistake made by Wakayama Governor Nisaka in relying too much on his information from Tokyo may be one example of not taking a regional and global view on IR development in Japan, but we can predict many future missteps along the same lines. (AGB Nippon)

Trouble in Paradise?

By

Michael Penn

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October 15, 2020

Hints continue to emerge in the Korean media that Paradise Co. may be in a rather deep financial crisis, with the latest word being that investors are keeping their distance as the firm struggles to increase its liquidity.

Of course, all South Korean casino operators have had a horrific year amidst the pandemic. Jeju has seen its tourist flow nearly cut off entirely. The other two among the nation’s big three–Kangwon Land and Grand Korea Leisure–have also suffered serious losses, with Kangwon Land in particular falling into months-long periods of complete business suspension.

But Kangwon Land and Grand Korea Leisure are state-backed enterprises, meaning that bankruptcy is effectively impossible for them so long as the central government is willing to increase their operating budgets.

Paradise Co. has no such safety net. It is a private company operating four foreigner-only casinos at a time when international travel restrictions ensure that it will have largely empty gaming floors. Eventually, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic will subside and international visitors will return to South Korea, but that prospect appears many months away, and in the meantime Paradise Co. has to find a way to keep paying the bills.

Creditors and investors have apparently become nervous about the situation because it seems that Paradise Co.’s fixed expenses are relatively high, and the firm is thus expected to take a financial pummeling each month until better sales results return.

The Korean media reports that investors completely rejected their latest opportunity to buy Paradise Co. bonds in spite of the relatively high 2.2 percent to 3.3 percent interest rate being offered.

As Paradise Co, plays such a major role in South Korea’s gaming industry, by far its largest private enterprise, its troubles cannot be overlooked.