Inside Asian Gaming

September 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 47 good for another $60 million. Themachine gaming industry consists of more than 20,000 limited-prize amusement devices, many imported from Japan and resembling that nation’s pachinko games. They are spread across some 3,900 venues of various types and represent about 17% of East Asia’s total machine inventory. “We are ready for the development of casino tourism,” the county magistrate of Penghu, Wang Chien-fa, declared at a news conference recently, emphasizing his view of the industry as a catalyst for an expansive, integrated resort industry consisting of hotels, theme parks, retail shopping, conventions and other attractions. His government, moreover, is planning already to designate public land for development, although he added that transportation and road development are important issues that need to be addressed. “Two to three big plots of land will be ready in anticipation of an influx of investment by international conglomerates for the development of casinos and the related tourism industry,”he said. He said he expects casinos to attract 2 to 3 million tourists per year. Currently, Penghu attracts about 500,000 a year, mostly from Taiwan proper, according to the county’s Tourism Bureau. President Ma has said he supports the proposalandhassaidthecentralgovernment will help facilitate development once an agreement is reached on legalization. Not surprisingly, the potential is attracting prospective investors fromaround the world.One of the first to dig in is Canada’s Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, which has concluded an agreement to manage up to two casinos for the Thao Tribe on Kinmen Island and Sun Moon Lake, both popular tourist spots. The agreement was reached during a trade mission by Saskatchewan First Nations officials that resulted in a number of agreements that open up the province’s oil sands for investment by Taiwanese companies. SIGA said it expects to receive up to US$600million a year from themanagement contract, based on a 30% cut of projected annual revenues of $1 billion at each Thao casino. The agreement is slated to run for 25 years. Thao officials are waiting for approval of their casino permit applications. One insider said the Kinmen casino could begin construction within a matter of months. As the momentum for legalization intensifies, Taiwan’s government has moved to get a better handle on it by requiring that prospective gaming operators together with their representatives register officially as lobbyists. The new rules, which were promulgated by the Ministry of the Interior, specifies that lobbyists register with the institutions of their intended activities and furnish information such as the content of the lobbying and howmuch is to be spent on the lobbying. Full disclosure of information will be required and violators will face fines of more than US$80,000. Significantly, the rules ban individuals and organizations from China, Macau or Hong Kong from engaging in lobbying. By James Rutherford, editor of Inter- national Gaming and Wagering Business (IGWB) magazine. Reprinted with permission from IGWB . A Sure Bet Log onto www.asgam.com for the latest industry intelligence and a subscription to our digital edition — all absolutely free. Kinmen Island