Inside Asian Gaming

February 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 23 In Focus “I n Africa, I see the big public gaming companies moving beyond southern Africa,” says John A. Robbins. “I can see us merging or being bought out at some stage. In South Africa, there are 40 [gaming] licences and they are making a lot of money. It’s a very, very, good business, but they can’t expand. A lot of them looked at the UK, until that became a farce,” he adds. “All over the world, Sol Kerzner, for example, has been looking at other markets. He looked at Singapore. He’s got involved in The Atlantis, a leisure resort in Dubai, though there’s obviously no casino there. “Build, operate and sell. That was the plan and that’s what we’ve done. I think we’ve been involved in setting up more than 20 casinos over the last 15-16 years. If someone comes and offers you the right price, why not? If the Price is Right KaiRo International’s business model is to build and sell to that, even with our Asian players. We offer more on payback. To the guys that I’ve met in many Asian markets, such as Cambodia, I think 92% return to player [on slots] seems to be the upper level. If you talk to managers in some places in Asia about offering 95%, people start saying ‘Why are you giving so much?’ But at KaiRo International, we’re focused on giving win opportunities to our players. “In east Asia, it’s still mainly about the live game, the touch of the card and the feeling of making a decision—should I have a card, should I not have a card? “It’s that feeling: ‘I’m a lucky guy’. There’s a lot of that in this part of the world, with the squeezing of the cards etc. It takes a lot to compete with that in terms of the slots experience. I think it means you have got to give value.” Asian players playing in Africa think differently, points out Mr Robbins. “They have quickly buttoned on to new slot machines, and realised they are very, very, good value for money,” he explains. “I think the slot machine business in the next five years will really swing around in Asia. I think that just from my experience in Africa. Asians playing slots in Africa will come back home and educate players here, and venues such as Wynn Macau I think will help us by educating a new generation of Asian players about slots. Many of those people may go on to work in or visit Africa, so that’s good news all round.” Credit Where Due Asian players in Africa are not so focused on credit and freebies as their counterparts in Macau “I n Asia, I think the gaming industry is mainly about management style,” says Mr Robbins. He suggests this is because gaming in East Asia itself is driven not only by table games, but also by advancing credit to players. This ‘giveaway’ ethos also translates itself toelementsofmass segmentmarketing in Asia, he believes. “In Asia, they market and promote by giving stuff away. If you buy in for a hundred dollarstheygiveyouanotherhundreddollars worth of credit,” points out Mr Robbins. “In Africa, we operate very differently