Inside Asian Gaming

July 2016 inside asian gaming 23 International, has become a rival in London. Late last year, Landing paid £137 million for Mayfair’s Les Ambassadeurs Club, which dates to the early 19th century and has 45 tables. “Les Ambassadeurs Club is a promising overseas project with an extensive customer base of ultra-high net worth individual customers in Europe and the Middle East,” Landing Chairman and Executive Director Yang Zhihui said in an April statement marking completion of the deal. “Looking ahead, we plan to attract more Chinese customers with high betting leveraging the group’s strengths to further enrich Les Ambassadeurs Club’s customer base to maximize returns of the project.” According to the GBGC report, Les Ambassadeurs moved in this direction by raising its membership fee in a single step from £500 to £25,000 and upping its maximum bet/differential from £25,000 to £300,000. Overall from the UK’s 2008/09 fiscal year to 2014/15, gross gaming revenue from baccarat has tripled, from £67 million to £194 million, reportedly largely driven by Chinese players from across Asia. “London casinos which aremore boutique in style are popular with In Focus “A true IR would be a game- changer … but how big a game changer an IR might be and what would be the driving characteristics of such an IR would be highly situational – all IRs are not created equal.” Macomber International President Dean Macomber says an integrated resort in Europe is long overdue The Republic of Cyprus, which rules the southern two-thirds of the island, received a dozen expressions of interest when it proposed issuing a casino license last July, aiming to boost tourism, jobs and investment. In March, lawmakers approved gaming regulations. The winner will be required to build a resort with at least 500 guest rooms, 100 to 200 gaming tables and 1,000 to 2,000 gaming machines, to be completed within two years. During construction, the licensee can operate a temporary casino. Gaming tax will be fixed for 15 years at 15%, low by European standards, with corporate profits taxed at 12.5%. The operator can also run four satellite gaming facilities with up to 50 electronic gaming devices and live table games also permitted at one satellite. Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen likes the terms, noting that there’s no minimum capital investment requirement or mandatory amenities beyond guests rooms, no restrictions on junkets and no prohibition on gaming floor smoking or drinking. There are also no restrictions on locals using the casino. Cyprus has 850,000 people, plus about 300,000 in the Turkish-controlled north of the island, with annual per capita income of €23,000 (US$25,600) and an unemployment rate that’s ballooned from below 4% in 2008 to above 15% today, but Govertsen doesn’t expect them to contribute significantly to gaming revenue. “GREAT CLIMATE” A Cyprus IR is all about tourists, who already account for an estimated 20% of GDP. The Eastern Mediterranean island state measuring about 80km (50 miles) north to south and 160km east to west welcomed nearly 2.7 million visitors last year. Arrivals show a 4% compound annual growth rate since 2010, despite Europe’s economic woes. “Cyprus has a great climate,” Global Betting and Gaming Consultancy CEO Warwick Bartlett says. “It’s popular with Russian tourists and over a million Brits go there every year.” Between them, visitors from the UK and Russia account for nearly [Asian] VIPs,” Mr Bartlett says, adding Britain’s departure from the European Union won’t change London’s lure. “They have children at school in London, own property there, and can find the food they like. The casinos can also cater for the big bets they are prepared to make.” EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Monaco and London are places that have global cachet and potential appeal to serious gamers from Asia as well as holiday makers, but >