Inside Asian Gaming

May 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 15 much lower tax rate (15% gaming tax in the mass segment plus 7% Goods and Services Tax, versus Macau’s 39% on the gross), it’s not hard to see how Singapore’s IRs can potentially produce a better yield per slot player despite the higher wage costs and general overheads associated with doing business in Singapore. ‘There are a lot of two cent machines in the Singapore IRs,” says the industry source. “A 50-line two-cent machine means a [Singapore] dollar bet. That’s the equivalent of more than five Hong Kong dollars, which in Macau would be approaching the VIP slot market segment. Common denominations “At Genting [RWS], you have 100-lines games from Aristocrat and you’ve got 50- line bets for everybody else. The 100-line games are not super popular in RWS at the moment. The 50-line games are, and the low-denomination is at the moment dominating—that means under ten [Singapore] cents (HK$0.28). The five- and two-cent games are, I think, going to be the winners [in Singapore],” explains the insider. “Now two casinos are there, overnight the club industry has fallen from 100% of the market to 35% of the market, though admittedly the market itself is also growing. By this time next year, the club market share could be as low as 25%. “I think by the third quarter this year, the Singapore casinos will start to see momentum really taking off.” Log onto www.asgam. com for the latest industry intelligence and a subscription to our digital edition—all absolutely free A Sure Bet “What they’reused to if they’re Singapore slot club players is a very tough 82% RTP with five line games, nine lines maximum bets,” the industry source tells IAG . Tax issues “The way the tax on club gaming is structured, the clubs can’t make any money unless they set the RTP at 82%. What the players are getting [in the IRs] is an RTP set at 90% minimum, with 25, 50 and 100 lines. The casinos in Singapore are not allowed to operate their games under 90% RTP. That can be a combination of a machine and a link. But it has to be overall a return [to the player] theoretically on the machine of 90%.” In Macau, low denomination machines are available in as little as HK$0.02 or HK$0.01 multiples in some casinos. That doesn’t even register on the scale in Singapore dollar terms. In the Singapore IRs, the lowest denominations are typically S$0.05 to S$0.10. That’s equivalent to HK$0.28 to HK$0.56 per bet. Given the differential on currency exchange rates and Singapore’s Slot machines in Macau come in denominations as low as HK$0.02. The lowest in Singapore is 14 times more, and equivalent to HK$0.28 Marina Bay Sands