Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 30 TECH TALK T he current buzzword among international slot machine manufacturers targeting Asianmarkets is“localization.” This is in part an acknowledgement that until recently as a group they had not always done enough to create products specifically designed for the region’s players. That, however, is understandable considering the big slot suppliers’ sales in Asia outside of Australia are still a tiny fraction of total worldwide sales. Macau had 16,585 electronic gaming machines at the end of last year, year, giving it a comfortable lead among Asia’s legal gaming jurisdictions. Still, that puts all of Macau’s installed EGM capacity below the 10% annual replacement rate on Australia’s 197,892 machines. The US had 849,859. So for slot makers, Asia is a long-term investment but a fairly safe one given casino expansion across the continent and the insatiable demand from mainland Chinese players. For the most part, “localization,” as far as Asian gaming is concerned, means catering to Chinese preferences. Macau was designed with Chinese players in mind. So was Malaysia’s venerable Casino de Genting (which by law is off limits to Muslims, effectively barring the country’s ethnic Malay majority), as well as the casinos at Singapore’s sprawling integrated resorts. Asia’s other emerging casino destinations are also banking on Chinese to drive their businesses, from the mid-level-VIP-targeted NagaWorld in Phnom Pehn to the swanky new Solaire in Manila Bay. Slots only started taking hold in Macau from 2003, and as the players mature, their preferences are evolving rapidly. They are also forming strong brand loyalties to the The Local Perspective The big international slot manufacturers are gradually getting more Asia-focused with their game development. Macau-based Laxino Technology always was, and now they’re busy creating mobile versions of their successful online slot and table games, and taking their game development further with the consumer insights gleaned from living and breathing Macau, interacting with big players and tapping into their extensive online data base