Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming May 2016 42 Following two years of remarkable growth, what is the future of proxy betting in Southeast Asian casinos? F or industry analysts wondering about the fate of Macau’s missing billions, the dust- blown streets of Cambodia’s border towns could provide an answer. The months since Xi Jinping’s campaign against corruption got underway have been marked by a proliferation of Chinese-run proxy betting casinos in Poipet, Bavet and the coastal resort town of Sihanoukville, according to an insider familiar with the situation. “In Cambodia now there are thousands and thousands of people working to deliver proxy betting via telephone and the internet to mainland China,” says the insider. “In Sihanoukville Remote Operations alone I think there’s 12 or 13 new casinos set up for just this purpose.” Online gaming consultant VinNarayanan agrees with the claim that China’s anti- graft drive has diverted billions of dollars of gaming revenue towards proxy betting operations in Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam. “Scaring gamblers away from Macau has been like damming a river,” he says. “Instead of stopping the flow, the water has just found a new home. Proxy is now a huge, thriving business that a lot of high rollers are moving towards.” Jimei Group is often credited with inventing proxy betting. In the 1990s, the story goes, the junket operator was running VIP rooms in Clark Freeport Zone. Some customers couldn’t come to the casino; either because they wished to remain anonymous or because they were unable to travel to the Philippines. The solution was simple: give a telephone to a friend appointed by the gambler, or a trusted member of Jimei’s staff. The proxy would then sit at a regular table and take instructions on how to place bets. Video streamed over broadband internet has spurred the industry’s recent rise in Cambodia. According to the industry insider, setting up a proxy operation there is relatively simple. The operator, who may or may not be a Chinese junket, simply buys a gaming license from the government for a few hundred thousand dollars. To outsiders his new casino may appear strangely empty. But in its recesses there will be cameras set up around brightly lit tables, manned by Chinese speaking card dealers. The operator is thus able to cater to Chinese high rollers without spending millions on lavish hospitality and his own luxury resort. Shaun McCamley, who was president of Vietnam’s Ho Tram Casino Resort, set Features