Inside Asian Gaming

41 February 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING REGIONAL BRIEFS visitation from the mainland was up 4.6% to 16.9 million people. Seven million visited from Hong Kong and 1 million from Taiwan, down 6.6 and 11.8%, respectively. Visitation from Europe (262,000) and Oceania (129,000) grew by 4.3% and 0.9%, respectively, but the 306,000 who came from the United States represented a decrease from 2011 of 1.3%. December visitation was down 2% to 2.49 million. Vietnam Smashes Web Gambling Ring Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security says it has broken up the largest illegal online gambling operation in the country’s history. Online news portal VietNamNet reports that eight people were arrested—five in Ho Chi Minh City and three in Hanoi—in connection with the ring, which offered a range of race and sports bets and allegedly was transferring millions in US dollars out of the country on a daily basis. Among the accounts police say they uncoveredwas one reported to contain up to 10 trillion Vietnam dong (about US$470 million). According to investigators, the ringwas founded in thePhilippines and was introduced to Vietnam in early 2011. Banner Year for New Zealand Gaming New Zealanders lost a record A$2.07 billion last year on all forms of gambling. Kiwis spentmore thanA$16billion, or about $3,600 for everyman, woman and child on the islands, on casino games, club-based slots, lotteries and the TAB, according to the Department of International Affairs. Losses were up 3% over the previous financial year. The Lotteries Commission enjoyed a record year, winning A$419 million on $948 million in sales. But casinos generated the most revenue, $509 million, an 8% increase over the same period, which was “due to growth across SkyCity’s casinos and the Christchurch casino reopening after the February 2011 earthquake,” the department said. Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain said that when the data was compared with the previous record of A$2.04 billion in annual losses in 2004 and adjusted for inflation, “Total gambling is in fact reducing in New Zealand.” A SkyCity spokeswoman said gaming revenue across the company’s New Zealand and Australian casinos was up 4.9% during the year and added that the company took its responsible gaming initiatives “very seriously”. Macau Casinos to Get 250 New Tables This Year Macau Secretary for Economy andFinanceFrancisTamannounced at the end of last month that only 250 new gaming tables will be allocated to casinos in the city this year. Of those, 200 would go to Sands China and the remaining 50 to Galaxy Entertainment Group. Macau Daily Times quoted Mr Tam as saying: “The government promised Sands 400 tables upon its Sands Cotai Central project starting full operation. As its new batch of 2,000 hotel rooms were formally opened [on 28th January], the government has to meet its promise of giving it the remaining 200 tables, in addition to the 200 already given to them at the completion of phase one of Sands Cotai Central in 2012. So for the whole Sands Cotai Central project, there are 400 tables altogether.” “As for Galaxy, the government promised 450 tables, and 400 of them were already put in place at the completion of the resort’s phase one project, and for the remaining 50, perhaps we’ll grant them within this year. So the government will only give 250 new tables for the new projects, and all the existing projects in the existing casinos will not get any new tables this year.” The government had set a cap of 5,500 gaming tables for the whole Macau casino market until the beginning of 2013, after which growth in the number of tables is limited to 3% per annum until at least the end of the decade (though if that restriction is to be strictly adhered to, the number of tables should strictly only increase by 165 this year). The government also recently said that the granting of tables to casino operators’ new resort projects would be made in proportion to their investment in non-gaming amenities, though no details were given on how the allocation would be calculated. Mr Tam said operators have been asked to submit their development plans to the government as a reference to guide the allocation. SkyCity Auckland Francis Tam