Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2009 48 Briefs Regional Briefs Genting Strikes Positive Theme Genting Berhad, the developer of one of Singapore’s two new integrated gaming resorts, says it is confident the city will not suffer from the kind of gaming market stagnation seen in Macau. According to Robin Goh, assistant vice president of the US$6 billion Resorts World at Sentosa, the presence of two world class attractions on its premises—Southeast Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park and Marine Life Park, the world’s largest oceanarium— will be the driver that Macau currently lacks. “We believe that Resorts World’s proposition as a complete destination is its key differentiation from Macau, which is still very skewed towards gaming,”Mr Goh told the Malaysia Star . “Macau only has casinos and big hotels whereas RWS will be home to some of the world’s leading attractions, including the Universal Studios theme park which will occupy almost half of the resort,” he said. He said the theme park would feature 24 movie-themed rides, 18 of which were designed exclusively for Singapore. What’s the End Game? There were more police crackdowns last month on Phnom Penh’s slot clubs. This time it was not just borderline establishments dubiously classified as five star hotels, but clubs run by internationally recognised brands. In another move, Cambodia’s sole bookmaker, Cambo Six, closed all its outlets in accordance with an order issued by Prime Minister Hun Sen, made apparently without warning at a Phnom Penh graduation ceremony, reports the English-language newspaper The Phnom Penh Post . Finance Minister Keat Chhon told The Post that the betting chain, which has 20 outlets across the country, had been given a week to close. But in PhnomPenh, Battambang, Sihanoukville and SiemReap, Cambo Six branches were forced to end all gambling, the company said, and could only remain open to pay winnings on previously placed bets. “The police are forcing us to close, but we have to pay our customers,”said Nancy Chau, the manager of Cambo Six’s head office in Phnom Penh. Keat Chhon said thegovernmentwould signa licence termination agreement with the company, stipulating that the company would not receive any compensation. Its current operating licence had been due to expire in 2011. “We are not slowing the closure process with this football betting company because we are working with them even at night time,” Keat Chhon said in comments reported by The Phnom Penh Post . It all raises the question, ‘What’s the end game?’ It doesn’t appear to be a ban on all gaming, as according to sources spoken to by IAG , NagaCorp and its resort NagaWorld in Phnom Penh has not been affected. And as IAG reported last month, another casino resort, the Angkor Park Resort, near Siem Reap, was recently approved by the central and regional government. A number of scenarios for the clamp down come tomind. One is a possible power struggle between the Phnom Penh city government and the central government. There have been suggestions that some ‘licensing fees’ for black market slot clubs had been siphoned off by local officials. The current clampdown coincided with a power vacuum created after the capital’s police chief died suddenly recently in a helicopter accident. Another possibility is it’s a clean-up designed to impress the world’s media. The latter has descended on Cambodia for the much heralded trial of Ieng Sary, a former leader of the Khmer Rouge. It could be both or, indeed, neither of the above. New Age The Macau government has confirmed it is considering raising the minimum age for entry to its casinos from 18 to 21. Such a move would bring ‘Asia’s Las Vegas’ in line with the Nevada jurisdiction. The key reason for the proposal, cited by Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, Macau’s Secretary for Administration and Justice, in a written answer to a local legislator, was concern about local youths and young casino staff gambling in local casinos. This is rather different from the reason given when the idea of raising the age limit was first mooted in late 2007. That was a time well before social responsibility became a hot topic and before China started rationing entry permits for its citizens to visit Macau. Back in 2007, sources close to the government indicated the idea was to discourage high school graduates from taking the first well-paid casino dealer job that came along and instead encourage them to enter further education. That way, locals had a chance of becoming casino executives in the future rather than being trapped by the glass ceiling of casino pit work. Those under-21s already working in casinos would be given exemption from the age rule under the proposal. The idea was supported at the time by Dr Stanley Ho, whose company SJM operates or provides licences for 19 of Macau’s 31 casinos. Dr Ho indicated ruefully that some of the school leavers interviewed by SJM had difficulty adding up properly. Forward wind to 2009, and by pushing the higher age policy now, the Macau government has the chance to earn a few brownie points from Beijing and the world at large on the topic of social responsibility, as well as addressing the issues of local skills and education. Resorts World at Sentosa