Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2020年2月 亞博匯 22 COVER STORY F rom the moment Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) dealt its first cards on 14 February 2010, Singapore’s integrated resorts have set the pace in global gaming. RWS and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) established new benchmarks for IR design and operations, delivering huge profits at breathtaking margins to parent companies Genting Singapore and Las Vegas Sands. Singapore regulators keep writing the playbook for IR development and oversight that jurisdictions across the globe study and strive to emulate, complete with a compelling case study of how introducing casino gaming can reduce problem gambling. Singapore’s IRs revamped the city’s image as a tourismdestination and even as a place to live andwork. In a city already known for conventions, hospitality, shopping and eating, the IRs raised the bar in each segment. A SG$9 billion (US$6.7 billion) expansion agreement struck between the government and the operators last year will enhance the IRs’ signature features and Singapore’s tourism proposition. The only category where the IRs’ performance doesn’t blow away all rivals is on the gaming floor. Estimated gross gaming revenue was US$6 billion in 2011, a total it has never exceeded; last year, GGR was likely around US$5 billion. The Venetian Macao regularly beats market leader MBS in GGR, and all four Sands China Cotai properties better its per table revenue. (MBS is the LVS corporate champion in revenue per gaming machine). In one of the richest cities on earth with a visitor mix that includes many of the world’s wealthiest, Singapore’s gross gaming revenue stands out as a missed opportunity – albeit a wholly predictable one. “The government of Singapore long viewed the introduction of integrated casino resorts as a tool to grow international visitation – not to make Singapore a gaming destination,” Klebanow Consulting Principal 自 聖淘沙名勝世界（RWS）於2010年2月14日派 出第一張牌的那一刻起，新加坡的綜合度假村 （IR）就在全球博彩業界中獨樹一幟。聖淘沙名 勝世界和濱海灣金沙（MBS）為綜合度假村所帶 來在設計和營運上的新標準，為其各自的母公 司雲頂新加坡及拉斯維加斯金沙集團帶來了驚人的利潤。 新加坡的監管機構持續在綜合度假村的發展與監督上推陳 出新，引發全球各地都爭相研究並努力效仿，最後完成一個關於 如何既引入博彩遊戲又減少問題賭博的漂亮研究案例。 新加坡的綜合度假村重塑了該市作為旅遊勝地乃至宜居宜 生活的城市形象。對這座已因會展、款客、購物和餐飲而聞名於世 的城市而言，綜合度假村的引入直接提升了各個細分部門的標 準。去年，新加坡政府與IR運營商之間所達成的總額達90億新加 坡元（合67億美元）的擴建協議，將進一步加強新加坡綜合度假的 特色，以及提振該國的旅遊業。 在其所有領域業績中，綜合度假村唯一沒有戰勝其所有競爭 對手的是博彩領域。據估算，2011年新加坡的博彩總收入為60億 美元，此後一直未能突破該數字；去年的博彩總收入據估計為50 億美元左右。在博彩收入上面，澳門威尼斯人一直領先濱海灣金 沙，而金沙中國位於路氹金光大道上四間物業的每張賭枱收入皆 超過濱海灣金沙。（但在每部博彩機器收入上，MBS則冠絕拉斯維 加斯金沙集團）。