Inside Asian Gaming

July 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 Briefs this will limit some appeal,” Mr Govertsen said. “However, offering convenience gambling is no small thing and we think the end result of a casino in Matsu would be to significantly grow the gaming revenues being generated from Fujian residents.” Singapore proposes limits on the number of casino visits by potential problem gamblers According to a Channel News Asia report, the Singapore government has proposed new measures to tackle problem gambling, including setting limits on the number of times certain players can visit the casinos. The new measures, now undergoing public consultation, are slated to kick in by June 2013. Some 200,000 locals visit Singapore’s casinos yearly. Of them, an estimated 4,000, or 2%, are considered problem gamblers, whom the new measures are intended to protect. Details are still being worked out, but casino operators may be required to regularly pass on to authorities details of frequent casino visitors, defined as those who visit the casinos six to 10 times a month. The National Council on Problem Gambling would then assess those individuals, on a case-by-case basis, and decide whether any of them need to have limits placed on how many times they can visit the casinos. The government has said, however, that at least for now, it does not intend to change the S$100 casino entry levy for Singaporeans. Melco Crown and Belle agree to partner on Manila casino Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd plans to enter the Philippines market by teaming up with local property developer Belle Corp, according to separate statements from the companies cited in a Dow Jones Newswires article. The parties said they signed a legally binding “memorandum of agreement” to partner on a casino resort that will cost at least US$1 billion in an area the Philippines hopes will become Manila’s version of the Las Vegas Strip. The companies didn’t elaborate on the details of their partnership, which they said they would hammer out over the next two months. The Philippine government has issued licenses to four companies, including Belle, to build casinos in the Manila Bay area. Belle, controlled by the Philippines’richest man, Henry Sy, completed most of the construction of their resort earlier this year but held off completing it as deal negotiations with Melco Crown dragged on over the past fewmonths, a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires . Melco Crown said it doesn’t expect its total investment in the project to exceed $580 million, which would come from a combination of cash, cash flow and debt financing. A $320 million loan facility “may be made available” to Melco Crown to finance the project, the company added. The merits of Melco Crown entering the Philippines market have been hotly debated recently. “I would much rather see the money put to work in Macau,” said Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen. “We are not sold on the concept of the Philippines [and Manila specifically] becoming the No.2 Asian gaming market behind Macau, let alone being big enough to support an additional four major new integrated resorts,” said Mr Govertsen in a recent report. Brokerage CLSA is more bullish on Manila’s prospects, writing in a recent report that factors such as the opening of more gambling tables, a rise in domestic tourism, an emerging middle class and improved infrastructure supported its “Overweight” view on the country’s casino industry. The report forecasts Philippines gambling revenue to reach US$3.0 billion by 2015 and added that low tax rates and cheap construction costs should underpin a 23% return on invested capital. Bloomberry Resorts Corp., controlled by local ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr., is also keen on Manila’s prospects. His company is set to open a US$1.2 billion casino-resort in the same area early next year and has contracted Global Gaming Asset Management, run by former senior Las Vegas Sands Corp. executives, to manage the casino operation. Other companies with casino licenses who plan to open projects in the area include a joint venturebetweenMalaysiancasinocompany Genting Hong Kong Ltd and Philippine conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc., and Universal Entertainment Corp., a pachinko company run by Japan’s Kazuo Okada. Limiting access—casino entrance at Resorts World Sentosa Glittering future—rendering of Universal Entertainment Corp.’s planned Manila Bay resort