Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN JAN 2020 8 Welcoming a new decade T his is the first IAG editorial I have written since December 2015. Apologies to our Managing Editor Ben Blaschke – who usually puts pen to paper for these pages, and who I absolutely promise will be back next month – but it has been over four years between drinks and it is the start of a new decade. So indulge me. Yes, I know the decade technically starts in 2021 but who cares, everyone considers the year ending in zero to be the start. 2020 is upon us. Yet another decade in this amazing Asian gaming industry of ours. It’s a good time to stop and reflect on the major themes that will pervade the industry in the next 12 months, and the next 10 years. I reckon there are three of them. 1. Japan licensing The creation of the Japanese IR industry will be the biggest thing to happen in the Asian gaming industry this upcoming decade. There are many big questions still unanswered. Which locations will the IRs be in? Which operators? How long to get the doors open? What will their GGRs and EBITDAs be? Will there be a second round of IRs licences, and under what terms? What, you want me to try to answer the questions? Who am I, Nostradamus? 2. Macau concession retendering Another doozy. And only number 2 because it is a change to something rather the creation of something new from scratch. More big questions. How many concessions? Still 6? Less? More? Who is in and who is out, if anyone? Any equity changes? Tax rate change? Any new obligations for the operators? Changes for satellite property rules? Changes to junket rules? What, you still want answers? I know a good Feng Shui master I can introduce you to. 3. iGaming Depending on who you ask, iGaming is either our industry’s great hope for the future or its problemchild. Right now it’s a gray market – a very gray market. Ok, let’s call it “charcoal”. Did anyone mention the color of the ace of spades? And the way mainland China is responding to iGaming in Asia, that isn’t changing anytime soon. The big questions for the 2020s? Well, will any jurisdiction other than the Philippines come up with a regulatory framework? Taiwan, can you hear me? Will China convince the Philippines to shut POGO down? What will Cambodia really do? Will a stable compromise be reached or will the cat and mouse game continue indefinitely? For answers, I suggest a Ouija board! I wish you all a great decade and pledge that, like a fine wine, IAG will just keep getting better and better as the years roll on! www.asgam.com EDITORIAL Andrew W Scott CEO We crave your feedback. Please email your comments to bb@asgam.com.