Good Morning. There’s an emerging video games genre called “gashapon”, which is skating a fine line between video games and gambling. These so-called games use loot boxes as a major feature of their gameplay, but does not set off any gambling laws as they don’t have any “cash-out” feature. We spoke to Hai Ng about what makes these games so popular, and why our industry needs to take note of their successes.
What you need to know
- Genting’s RWLV is seeing a ramp-up in occupancy and has been cash-flow positive since it opened last year despite the challenges brought by Covid, property president Scott Sibella said.
- Macau’s average daily revenue was up 3 percent in the week to April 10th, compared with the prior week, but remains at its lowest level since October 2021, Bernstein said.
- The New York Supreme Court has dismissed a case brought by Bangladesh Bank against Bloomberry Resorts for lack of jurisdiction.
- Star Entertainment’s chief legal and risk officer Paula Martin is set to resume the witness stand today (Tuesday) after commencing her testimony on Monday.
- Guangzhou has just become the next major Chinese city to tighten Covid restrictions after reporting 27 new cases on Monday, up from 11 cases a day earlier.
On the radar
- Macau 1Q22 industry EBITDA to decline QoQ, says Morgan Stanley
- PAGCOR hands over $115.2m to government, says industry recovering.
- IGT agrees to buy iSoftBet for EUR160m to expand digital offering.
- New York greenlights three casinos; GGR seen at $4.8b: CBRE.
- ICE London makes its return after 26 months of hiatus.
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What the papers say
- Downfall of Macau junket king rocks Asia Pacific gambling world.
- Macau only allows imported labor to fix temporary lack of local workers.
- China ends 9 month video gaming license freeze.
AGB Intelligence
DEEP DIVE
Hai Ng on what slots can learn from Gashapon games
Hai Ng, partner of Neomancer talks with Asia Gaming Brief about an emerging video game genre called “gashapon games,” and how it uses a mix of RNG, great content, and captivating gameplay to keep players engaged, and how we can apply this to the real money gambling space.
Industry Updates
- Esports Technologies signs on as sponsor for ASEAN 2022.
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- Sportradar buys AI specialist Vaix Ltd: Terms not disclosed.
- AXES acquires cloud media management platform.
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