Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING NOVEMBER 2018 48 TRADE EVENTS beyond local borders and their traditional activities will no doubt come to the fore. Day 2 of MGS Summit will focus back on the mass market customer, diversification, facilities, local talent and integration via representatives of the Big 6. JAPAN DREAMING Japan will again feature heavily at this year’sMGS Summit. Panels scheduled for Day 2 will analyze expectations from the Japanese government, the likely size of investment and ROI, international participation in Japanese IR projects, partnerships, the feasibility of Macau operators bidding for a license and how non-gaming offerings might be developed. A second session will debate the pros and cons of the possible locations of Japan’s IRs. FUTURE CALLING Technology will be one of the major components of MGS Entertainment Show, with Chun stating, “We have more focus on technology this year and also eSports.” Accordingly, MGS Summit will close with sessions delving into the future of electronic gaming and the best strategies to follow to gain market share. Interblock’s Joc Pečečnik, Aruze’s Takahiro Usui, APE’s Herman Ng and RGB’s Steven Lim will hold a discussion on innovation and evolution in the eGaming sector. The exhibition at MGS will feature some of the biggest names in the global gaming industry including Scientific Games, Aristocrat and IGT. 20-year gaming licenses expire between 2020 and 2022. With that in mind, a panel titled “The law and supervision of Macau gaming franchise rights” promises to attract a wealth of interest with Paulo Martins Chan, the director of Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, among the confirmed panelists. Dean of the Faculty of Law at University of Macau, Professor Tong Io Cheng, and Professor in International Integrated Resort Management, Davis Fong, will also sit on the panel, casting some light on the process and its key elements. JUNKETS IN THE SPOTLIGHT One of the great strengths of MGS Summit in recent years has been the presence of leading representatives of Macau’s VIP industry, better known as junket operators. In 2017, Suncity’s Alvin Chau and Meg-Star’s Thomas Pang joined Jay Chun onstage to discuss the future of the VIP segment. This year, the afternoon of Day 1 will again incorporate a number of sessions in which junket operators will be the focus of attention. Topics to be discussed will include details of a possible central credit system, how to protect VIP rooms regarding debt collection, whether credit should be provided by banks instead of junkets and Macau’s VIP market opportunities and challenges. The potential for Suncity Group to become Macau’s seventh concessionaire and the expansion of VIP operators