Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming september 2016 74 Presidential crackdown on Philippines gaming industry continues New President Rodrigo Duterte continues to shake up the Philippines’ gaming industry, ordering state-owned gaming authority Pagcor to sell its casinos in order to raise funds for the 2017 national budget. Agency Chair Andrea Domingo told a House budget hearing that Pagcor had been instructed to privatize its bricks and mortar operations by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and was now preparing a template to maximize the government windfall. However, Domingo issued a warning to the government that privatization would provide a “one time only” benefit as opposed to the ongoing revenues Pagcor casinos currently provide. Pagcor runs 11 casinos, with around half of the P46 billion the agency earned in 2015 coming directly from its gaming operations. Duterte had already made his presence felt by revoking more than 100 gaming licenses previously issued by Pagcor, with the agency also announcing it will not renew local giant PhilWeb’s license to operate gaming cafes in the Philippines. However, the controversial leader has given the green light for Pagcor to issue foreigner-only gaming licenses to help cover some of the financial shortfall. “We’re readying the application forms,” said Domingo. “It’s no longer the Filipinos who are betting but foreigners. We don’t know yet how saleable it is. There might be no takers or there could be many applicants.” Domingo said the licenses would be for six months and include high fees although the exact model could be adjusted depending upon its success. REGIONAL BRIEFS MGM Cotai to open as “mass only” property MGM China CEO Grant Bowie has announced that the company’s new Macau property, MGM Cotai, will be mass market only when it finally opens its doors in the first half of 2017. Echoing previous comments in which Mr Bowie had suggested that MGM would look to create a series of new and unique entertainment options at its new property to appeal to a broader audience, Bowie said that MGM Cotai would be responsive to the current climate in Macau and partly attributed the delay in opening to adjustments to the property’s offerings. “We’ve already made the decision that we’re envisaging opening with only mass tables and that’s obviously the basis of where we see the future of Macau,” Bowie explained. “That’s the decision we’ve taken at this time and we’re going to walk forward as being a mass-only property. “We’re one of the bigger contributors to that sector [mass gaming market]. We obviously understand that the market is diversifying and we need to be very responsive to that. “Our Cotai property has been designed to cater to many, many different types of customers with a particular emphasis on the non- gaming but also on providing a variety of opportunities for our visitors to partake in all sorts of mass gaming opportunities. The decision by MGM echoes a similar stance taken by Melco- Crown when Studio City first opened last year. MGM Cotai was originally scheduled to open in late 2016 but the company recently announced it had been pushed back to 2Q17. “MGMCotai as we’ve previously discussed is being built to cater for up to 500 tables, but clearly we now see the market is changing and we have to adapt to the changes and that’s what we’re seeking to do in collaboration with the government,” Bowie said. “I’m very positive that our property in Cotai will be given sufficient products, sufficient tables to cater to the customers we need and we’re going to be successful.” Sydney steals Melbourne’s VIP crown Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group appears to be benefiting from Macau’s downturn, with profit for the 2016 financial year up 15% and VIP revenue at Sydney flagship The Star out-performing Melbourne rival Crown for the very first time. Results released late last month show that the Group’s net profit rose to AU$194.4 million, with a 13% rise at The Star offsetting a slight fall in Queensland where it owns Brisbane’s Treasury Casino and Jupiter’s on the Gold Coast.