Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2011 30 In Focus I t’s not long ago that Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma) was considered a pariah country by Western governments. The United States, European Union and Canada imposed sanctions on the ruling military junta in 2007 following an army crackdown on anti-government protestors. The sanctions included a freeze on regime members’bank accounts and restrictions on imports of gems and timber fromMyanmar. Now, fewer than four years later, Myanmar is being talked about as the next Asian tiger economy, with opportunities to build a significant mainstream casino industry. How did that happen? And is it anything more than hot air? Myanmar already has casinos—eight on the border with Thailand and a handful on the border with China. But they are generally gambling halls with a few hotel rooms aimed at the nationals of Thailand and mainland China—where casino gambling is not legally permitted. Those establishments only survive due to the personal patronage of members of the Myanmar Uncle Asian entrepreneurs cast their net for casino investment opportunities in the former hermit state Out with the old—a Russian-built hotel in Yangon Myanmar government—in return for a percentage of the action. It’s a big leap of the imagination to go from that to modern integrated casino resorts. Yet the idea may not be so far-fetched. It’s not impossible that a rejuvenated Myanmar, with a popularly-elected government and reintegrated into the family of nations,