First Casino in Timor-Leste?
Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments Ltd. (APS) has announced it will establish a $60 million casino resort and a $20 million bank in the Southeast Asian nation of Timor-Leste.
Under the first agreement, APS would build a five-star hotel and “a respectable, high-security, law-abiding casino,” the country’s first land-based gaming hall.
Offshore gambling is legal in Timor-Leste, as are lottery games, wagers on cockfighting and traditional games like “kuro” and “bola guling.”
But as recently as February 2024, Timor-Leste President Ramos Hurta said he opposed other forms of domestic gaming, including casinos. “I don’t want some poor Timorese to lose everything in gambling,” he told Macau broadcaster TDM.
Practical considerations may have changed his mind. According to a World Bank report, the country’s long-term fiscal stability is at risk due to “high government spending and modest returns” from a petroleum fund. The report recommends “further investment in infrastructure, human capital and agricultural productivity” to unlock economic growth.
Per the second agreement, APS would establish a new bank in partnership with Banco Nacional de Comercio de Timor-Leste and control 60 percent of the venture.
Founded in 2002, Timor-Leste is one of the world’s youngest nations, and one of the least-visited, with fewer than 75,000 tourists in 2019. By contrast, 1.55 million people visited neighboring Indonesia, 13.6 million visited Singapore and 15.4 million visited Bali.
Macau CE: Reliance on Gaming Created “Economic Imbalance”
Sam Hou Fai, installed in December as Macau’s new chief executive, addressed the government’s Economic Development Council on Feb.18. He reiterated his commitment to building a stronger, more diverse economic base in the Chinese gaming hub.
“In recent years, the rise of unilateralism and protectionism has posed significant challenges to the global economy,” Sam said, according to Macau Business. “As a small-scale economy, Macau cannot remain unscathed, especially as competition in tourism and gaming from neighboring cities intensifies and looms. Such risks and challenges must not be overlooked.”
He added that the city’s longstanding reliance on gaming revenue created an “economic structural problem (that will) persist for a long time without any fundamental changes.
“Macau’s economy is at a critical juncture,” Sam noted, “transitioning from recovery to high-quality development. (We need to) leverage both market forces and government support, and optimize existing resources while expanding new opportunities.”
Japan’s Universal Entertainment Posts Million-Dollar Loss
Universal Entertainment Corp. (UEC), parent company of Philippines integrated resort (IR) Okada Manila, posted a net loss of $102.8 million in 2024, a 29.4 percent decline. Operating profit plummeted 90.1 percent to $19.8 million.
UEC attributed the results to a drop in VIP gaming at Okada Manila in the Philippines and flagging sales of pachinko and pachislot machines in Japan.
“The slowdown of the junket business negatively affected the overall market conditions for the casino business in the Philippines,” UEC stated in its financial report, issued Feb.13.
“Although sales in the mass market and gaming machine category has steadily increased overall since the pre-pandemic peak in 2019, their performance in the fiscal year 2024 was down from the previous year when demand significantly rebounded following the pandemic.”
UEC also pointed to higher personnel expenses at the Manila IR, and “a foreign exchange gain as the Japanese yen continued to depreciate against the U.S. dollar.”
Sri Lanka Boosts Casino Taxes in 2025 Budget
The government of Sri Lanka will balance its 2025 budget with a higher tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and stiffer casino entry fees.
According to Agence France Presse (AFP), under the budget casinos will be subject to an 18 percent tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR). Additionally, the entry fee for casino patrons will be doubled, from $50 to $100 per person.
It’s the first budget from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, elected last year on an anti-corruption platform. With increased revenue, “We should be in a comfortable position to service our foreign debts from 2028,” he said.
In related news, per Macau Business, Melco Resorts & Entertainment will open its newest casino, City of Dreams Sri Lanka, in the third quarter of 2025. Melco and its partner, John Keells Holdings, won a 20-year casino license from Sri Lankan authorities in 2024. A 687-room luxury hotel and other non-gaming amenities have already opened at the $1.2 billion development in Colombo, the capital of the South Asian nation.
Melco also operates City of Dreams-branded properties in Macau, the Philippines and Cyprus.
Thailand Council: Only Millionaires Allowed
To address public concerns about gambling addiction, Thai lawmakers may limit casino entry to locals with seven-figure bank accounts. A bill to legalize entertainment complexes with gaming, approved by the cabinet in January, is now before the Council of State (COS).
The steep financial benchmark would restrict gambling to Thai nationals with a minimum of 50 million baht ($1.48 million) in the bank.
“We don’t want the public to be bogged down by this gambling fanfare,” said COS Secretary-General Pakorn Nilprapunt, as quoted by The Thaiger. “(The entertainment complexes) are man-made tourism attractions; that’s the focus, not the gambling. I think if we impose strict measures, we might be able to prevent Thais from entering and becoming gambling addicts.”
The bill is designed to attract foreign investment and draw more international visitors. According to one study, casinos could boost tourism by 5 percent to 10 percent and create up to 15,000 jobs.
Tourists are already returning to Thailand. The government has set a target of 39 million international tourists this year and a 7.5 percent increase in tourism revenue.
