Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming August 2016 42 According to brokerage CLSA, the three properties – Resorts World Manila, Solaire Resort & Casino and City of Dreams Manila – saw GGR rise 22% year-on-year, significantly higher than the 15% previously tipped. Notably, much of this increase was attributed to VIP gaming. CLSA singled out Bloomberg Resorts, which operates Solaire, as a particularly strong performer with the property having enjoyed its best ever month. “After breaking through PHP7 billion (US$148 million) for the first time in May, June has broken through the PHP8 billion barrier for the first time, with GGR up 51 percent year-on-year. This is another all-time high, the third month in succession to set an all- time best,” CLSA analyst Marcus Liu said. “Year to date, we are tracking at +22% year-on-year which is ahead of our above-consensus expectation of +15% for the integrated resorts.” The performance of Manila’s IRs also comes as a huge positive for Kazuo Okada, whose US$4 billion Okada Manila – located near Solaire and City of Dreams in the city’s Entertainment City precinct – recently announced it would open its doors in November 2016. REGIONAL BRIEFS Macau greyhound industry given ultimate ultimatum Macau’s Gaming Coordination and Inspection Bureau (DICJ) has ordered Macau (Yut Yuen) Canidrome Co Ltd to relocate its controversial greyhound racing track within two years or shut down operations for good. In a move that has been welcomed by animal rights activists across the region – who for years have rallied against the alleged abuse of dogs at the facility – the gaming regulator cited a recent study which showed gross gaming revenue from greyhound racing had declined 13.8% year-on-year in 2015 from MOP$145 million to MOP$125 million. It also acknowledged changing “social expectations” in regards to how animals are treated, stating that Yat Yuen must also improve its animal welfare standards if it does choose to relocate. It has been reported that around 400 dogs are killed in Macau each year for being too slow. While the DICJ said that the findings of the study, conducted by the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau, formed the basis of its decision, it also came just weeks after the NSW State Government in Australia announced it would shut down the greyhound racing industry from 1 July 2017. Like Macau, the NSW decision was prompted by the findings of a Special Commission of Inquiry which revealed between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs had been killed in the last 12 years for being “too slow” and that up to 20 percent of greyhound trainers engaged in “live baiting” to train their dogs. NSW Premier Mike Baird said, “it appears unlikely that the issue of the large scale killing of healthy greyhounds by the industry can be addressed successfully in the future. Such is the culture of the industry and some of its leaders that it is no longer, if it ever was, entitled to the trust of the community.” Macau has historically sourced the vast majority of its racing dogs from Australia. Manila IRs enjoy record profits in June Manila’s reputation as an Asian gaming hub continues to grow with its trio of existing integrated resorts enjoying a third straight month of record gross gaming revenue in June. Australian slots body slams anti-gambling politicians The Gaming Technologies Association (GTA), an industry body representing the interests of domestic and international gaming machine manufacturers in Australia, has accused Australian anti-gambling politicians of falsely questioning the integrity of local slot machine manufacturers amid a push to tighten gambling restrictions. Senator Nick Xenophon and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie are leading a renewed push for gambling reform in the wake of the recent federal election, including limiting slot machines – known locally as poker machines – to maximum AU$1 bets and AU$120 losses in a bid to curb problem gambling. But GTA Chief Executive Ross Ferrar said the pair had deliberately distorted the truth about the nature of slot machines, claiming the proposed bet limits would hurt the gaming industry more than it would help problem gamblers. “A number of statements have been made … which represent a clear challenge to the integrity of our industry and which are quite