ASIAN GAMING
Gross gaming revenues in Macau rose 6 percent for the week ending January 25. That could mean the market, which saw seven months of precipitous decline in 2014, could...
Macau Casino Workers: Partial Smoking Ban Not Good Enough
Macau limits smoking in casinos to VIP rooms where the high rollers play. Employees of those casinos are now demanding a total ban on smoking within one year. They...
Vietnam Allows New Casino
A decision by the government of Vietnam to bring a casino to the island of Phu Quoc—and even allow Vietnamese patrons under certain circumstances—has generated mixed reaction among the...
Casinos for Tokyo Olympics? Doubtful
A report from Union Gaming Research says integrated resorts in Tokyo and Osaka “will never happen” before the start of the 2020 Summer Olympic games in Tokyo. Even so,...
South Korea Studying Cruise Line
South Korean casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Co. Ltd. is exploring the feasibility of cruise ships to draw more Chinese patrons. South Korea has no domestic cruise line, but...
City of Dreams Manila Officially Opens This Week
The grand opening of Melco Crown’s highly anticipated City of Dreams resort in Manila is set for February 2. On hand for the celebration will be company co-chairmen Lawrence...
Bloomberry Invests in South Korea
Bloomberry Resorts Corp., based in the Philippines, has bought 12.2 hectares (30.1 acres) of land on Muui Island in South Korea. The property in the Incheon Free Economic Zone...
China Star to Divest of Macau Land
China Star Entertainment has about a month to dispose of several plots of prime real estate in Macau. The land, worth HKD2.23 billion (US$288 million) is next to the...
South Korea Adding More Casinos
The South Korean government is preparing to license two more foreigners-only casinos and also add some 5,000 new hotel rooms. The move could increase tourism investment by about KRW3.5...
Junket Firms Exiting Macau
The David Group, one of the Top 10 junket operators in Macau, will close down three of its seven VIP rooms in the gaming hub. David Group locations are...
Russia’s Primorye Takes on Macau
With more than $1 billion in investments promised by international gaming companies, the Primorye region of Russia hopes to rival Macau as a casino destination. A new casino resort...
Macau Operators Could See Tax Hike
Casino companies that do business in Macau may be looking at a spike in their tax rate. Macau casinos now pay a tax rate of 39 percent on gross...
Vietnam OKs Phu Quoc Casino; Inches Toward Dropping Locals Ban
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved plans for a casino complex at Phu Quoc Island (l.), the country’s largest island. Officials in the southern province of Kiên...
Nepal OKs New Casino Operator
The government of Nepal will issue a special license to Hong Kong-based gaming operator Silver Heritage Ltd. to run the Shangri-La Casino (l.), located at the Shangri-La Hotel &...
Chinese Government: UnionPay Is Small Potatoes
Reports that Mainland China is monitoring UnionPay debit cards as part of its crackdown on money laundering in Macau may be overstated, say some analysts. For one thing, high...
Singapore Considering Group Self-Exclusions
The Singapore ministry has asked the National Council on Problem Gambling to consider several options regarding casino self-exclusions, including allowing religious groups to apply. Minister Denise Phua also has...
Labor Has Upper Hand in Macau
Macau’s gaming industry is growing and shrinking at the same time. Though a crackdown by the Chinese government has caused high rollers to flee and revenues to plummet, the...
Chinese Lawmaker Pushes Full Smoking Ban
Speaking on behalf of the Federation of Trade Unions, Chinese legislator Ella Lei Cheng I warned that the historic drop in gaming revenues in Macau could hamper efforts to...
Local Operator Possible in Macau
When it comes to new casino concessionaires, the government of Macau might look for an operator closer to home. A new report says the gaming enclave may want a...
Ho Facing Prison Time
Alan Ho, nephew of SJM Holdings Chairman Stanley Ho and a suspect in a prostitution sweep in Macau, is likely to spend the Chinese New Year behind bars, according...