Inside Asian Gaming

December 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 Briefs billion multi-property Ho Tram Strip complex on the southwest coast of Vietnam, 80 miles from Ho Chi Minh City. ACDL has already broken ground for the MGM Grand portion of the resort. MGM Grand Ho Tram will be surrounded by an 18-hole, Greg Norman designed, PGA champion level golf course and is scheduled to open in 2011. Bad Bet A Hong Kong businessman has found to his cost just how seriously the authorities in Mainland China regard the promotion and sale of unauthorised gambling services. Tam Chi-wai has just been jailed for eight years after being found guilty of running a number of illegal online casinos. He was also fined US$2.9 million in what is believed to be the biggest case of its kind in China. It involved about 8.68 billion yuan in wagered money and more than 278 million yuan in illegal profits, Xinhua news agency said, quoting a source with the Yunnan High People’s Court in southwest China. Tam, a Hong Kong resident, allegedly set up a gambling house in Myanmar, next door to Yunnan province, in 1999 and started to develop an online betting network employing up to 3,000 people Xinhua said. Casinos For Oil You’ve heard of the ‘Oil for Food’ programme in Iraq following the first Gulf War. Now Taiwan is apparently offering ‘casinos for oil’ according to a report in International Gaming & Wagering Business (IGWB) magazine. In a fascinating development, a native American organisation from Canada is reportedly willing to offer Taiwan development rights to oil sands located on its ancestral lands. In return,Taiwan may allow the native Americans to manage two casinos on land belonging to one of Taiwan’s own aboriginal tribes—the Thao people. IGWB says earlier this year, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), a non-profit corporation that has been in the casino business in Canada since 1996,came to Taiwan bearing development rights to Saskatchewan oil sands and came away with an agreement to manage two casinos on behalf of the Thao, one of 14 aboriginal groups in Taiwan that obtained official recognition in recent years fromtheTaiwanese government.TheThao are reportedly the smallest of these groups, numbering less than 300, but their ancestral lands are situated around Sun Moon Lake, a popular tourist destination in the central part of the island, and they have land on the offshore island of Kinmen. IGWB adds that theThao have already submitted two applications for casino licenses and thinks theymay have a good chance of success for two reasons. The first is that Taiwan’s politicians are now more willing to helpTaiwanese aborigines than they were in previous years. The second reason is that SIGA’s good reputation in working with the authorities in Canada could help dampen lingering hostility inTaiwan to the gaming industry. SIGA manages more than C$117 million of assets and operates five casinos on behalf of Saskatchewan’s Indian tribes, with a sixth due to open at the end of 2008. Korea Opportunities Hong Kong-listed shipping and property conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings and the casino operators Genting Group, Las Vegas Sands Corp and MGM Mirage are exploring opportunities in South Korea for gaming and resort businesses according to the South China Morning Post . South Korea is planning new gaming facilities on Jeju Island, a self-governing province. South Korea has the advantage of a low gaming tax, which influences the level of commissions and rebates casino operators are able to offer VIP junket agents and their high-rolling clients. The country’s 10% tax on gross gaming revenue compares favourably with rates of 35% plus social contributions in Macau and 25% in Malaysia and the Philippines. But current Korean regulations limit the size of the market by barring Korean nationals from all but one of the country’s casinos. That’s quite apart from the small matter of an international financial crisis. “Jeju, like many locations, has the potential to host an interesting gaming property,” said Michael Chen, Asia president for US casino developer Harrah’s Entertainment. “But it is constrained by the foreigners-only environment, and they have given out too many licences compared with the size of the existing market, making it difficult for operators to be competitive. South Korea has nearly 20 casinos, and the largest and most successful is the only one permitted to take bets from locals. Kangwon Land, a four-hour drive from Seoul, booked 1.07 trillion won (HK$6.2 billion) in revenue last year,accounting for nearly half of the country’s gaming revenue. Jeju’s eight casinos lag far behind. The island is about an hour’s flight from Seoul but because the Jeju casinos cannot take bets from locals, they are forced to rely on Japanese and, increasingly, Chinese gamblers for their revenue. Spotlight on Macau NewYork-based Summit Communications have a team in Macau, compiling a comprehensive report on the gaming market. “With the global economic slowdown, there’s a growing demand from investors for accurate information about Macau. The international headlines are announcing delayed projects, redundancies, liquidity problems and slowing growth. We provide a platform for the gaming industry to set the record straight, comment on recent developments and showcase their achievements. Our goal is to influence public opinion, generate awareness and provide thought-provoking content,” said Elisa Moriarty, Project Director. The report will be published in the first half of 2009 in The New York Times Magazine , profiling all the major players in the casino industry in Macau. If you wish to be featured in the report, please email macau-sc@summitreports.com with your contact information and details of your company. Jeju’s newest arrival: T.H.E. Hotel & LVegas Casino