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Stanley Ho names wife as temporary replacement


News ASIA & OCEANIA


2011 is time for united front on Japan


Japanese casino legislation is unlikely to be passed before 2012, according to a new industry report, which actively encourages a joint lobbying group funded by international operators and greater regional support. Gambling Compliance’s Daniel Macadam sees casino introduction as being a distant hope.


generalconsensus JAPAN


The introduction of casinos in Japan; ‘termed the Holy Grail of gaming in Asia,’ is getting closer according to a report by Hong Kong- based investment group CLSA that claims building a political, business and public consen- sus would be crucial to casinos finally being allowed to operate in Japan. Aaron Fischer, CLSA’s


director of gaming and leisure research, has 2017 as the earliest launch date for Japanese casinos, with a bill passed by the National Diet in 2012 rather than 2011 as Japan’s casino working party is targeting. Fischer argues, though,


that if “international gaming companies formed a lobby group and committed a few US $ million each for studies and marketing” a con- sensus on casinos could be formed faster.


One local consultant close to the process agreed with Fischer, suggesting the indus- try “should leave their egos at the door” and create a joint lobby support association with the Japan Academy of Gambling and Gaming Studies.


Although ten casino oper-


ators pitched their busi- nesses last month to Japanese legislators at an academy panel discussion, the consultant said that the companies have made a mistake by focusing on the national level rather than building up support in Japan’s regions. The more fruitful route,


he said, would come from forging ties with local busi- nesses and funding feasibil- ity and economic impact studies so the host commu- nities know what to expect from casino developments. "They [international oper-


ators] could become more engaged rather than sitting back and expecting every- one else to do the heavy lifting," the gaming consult- ant said. Fischer also said that more


vocal local governments would help pick up the pace, but that Tokyo was likely to remain silent until after next Spring’s Metropolitan gover- nor elections. Tokyo and Osaka are the


most probable locations for the first two casino licences, Fischer said, as they are the only two areas where opera- tors would be prepared to invest US $5bn to US $10bn. US giant Las Vegas Sands


has already toured both regions and chosen them as favoured locations, chairman Sheldon Adelson said in Sep- tember, because of their superior infrastructure to other pro- casino regions Okinawa and Kanagawa. Fischer estimates that the


Japanese casino market would generate at least $10bn in revenues, given that gambling is already popular amongst Japan’s 128m popu- lation, with the pachinko industry generating over $25bn a year, and Japan’s proximity to other lucrative North Asian markets. The tantalising prospect of tapping into a market which has a GDP per capita of $40,000, and a proven


18 February 2011 • easia&oceanianews


propensity to machine- based gambling, while also attract- ing tourists from across Asia and in particular mid to northern China, has held the casino industry’s attention for years. The frontrunners should legislation be passed, accord- ing to Fischer, will be Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singa- pore and Wynn Resorts, who all already enjoy success else- where in Asia. “Wynn has the best global


track record at building the highest quality product and Steve Wynn is more cultur- ally sensitive – so he could promise and deliver a prop- erty which would have the greatest special appeal to the Japanese market,” Fischer said. Las Vegas Sands and Genting Singapore’s track record in Singapore would also help them, although Genting “would need to improve their design and invest more to appeal to the significantly more sophisti- cated Japanese tastes”. More generally, Fischer argues that the Singaporean casino market,


which


opened earlier this year, should provide a catalyst for Japan given the positive impact it has had on tourist arrivals as well as on job and tax generation.


But Kazuaki Sasaki, assis-


tant professor at Nihon Uni- versity College of Economics, argues that Singapore’s example is more likely to help shape Japan’s casino legisla- tion than pressure legislators to pass the casino bill. Singapore’s regulations


Could approvals in 2012 pave the way for pachinko balls becoming roulette balls?


have already influenced the draft casino bill authored by the Japanese working party, with the definition of what casino resort would be allowed closely following Sin- gapore’s emphasis on busi- ness and family visitors, and Sasaki said this would con- tinue to be where the Singa- pore effect was felt.


The local casino consult-


ant agreed: “Singapore’s success is not on Japan’s radar and Japan feels no pres- sure. Japan is all about Japan and seldom reacts to outside pressure.”


What is more important,


he said, is that the Japanese casino initiative lacks a champion, who will put his name and reputation behind the proposals, and a govern- ment ministry where bureaucrats can start flesh- ing out the plans. The natural ministry to house the initiative is the Min- istry of Industry, Transporta- tion and Tourism (MITI), the consultant said, but the min- ister in charge has not yet indicated whether he sup- ports legalising casinos. The country’s political


culture of revolving door leadership and ongoing eco- nomic difficulties are also pushing casino legalisation further down the govern- ment’s list of priorities. “Japan can't even predict who will be the prime minis- ter in 2012, so how can one realistically project when leg- islation of such national insignificance will pass,” the consultant said.


Stanley Ho Hung Sun has appointed his wife to fill his position as managing director of SJM Holdings whilst he recovers from a head injury suffered in 2009. In temporarily replacing her 89- year-old multi-millionaire husband, Angela Leong On Kei, already an SJM executive director and a lawmaker, said: “It’s inconvenient for him to frequently travel to Macau to handle company matters. SJM is a local company, so I will do my best to help the company maintain its leading position in the industry.” Stanley Ho, who remains an executive director of SJM, transferred a seven per cent stake in SJM Holdings to Leong recently and also reduced his participation in Shun Tak to 8.72 per cent from 20.27 per cent.


Macau looks for orderly and appropriate growth


safefoundations CHINA


Macau’s cap on gaming table numbers will not be increased by more than three to five per cent a year when the current limit expires in 2013, equating to an extra 700 to 1,200 gaming tables by 2015. The SAR’s economy and finance secretary, Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said: “Gaming tables will not be approved based on gaming enterprises. Instead, gaming enterprises should plan their development in line with gaming sector’s orderly development. In future it will take some time to approve the concession- aires’ projects.” Union Gaming’s


Bill


Lerner believes increased table limits would benefit MGM and Wynn most with both set to reach the current limit of 5,500 by next year. Better controls are being considered too to curb problem gambling. The director of the University of Macau’s Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming (ISCG), Davis Fong Ka Chio, believes the gov- ernment should move to better protect its local players.


“Locals have a much easier access to gaming floors,” Fong said. “The number of casinos has been soaring and in the foresee- able future it will keep increasing. With this evolu- tion, we have more local people gambling, and some of them cannot control their


behaviour, becoming problem gamblers.” Fong explained that


around three percent of the local population, aged between 18 and 64 years old, could be classified as a problem pathological gambler and believes there are two different groups that face higher risks: house- wives and gaming employ- ees.


“Housewives are at risk because Macau is small and they have free time, so it is rather easy for them to have access to gaming venues,” Fong explained. “Gaming employees experience an environment that is all about temptation and these workers see a lot of money going in and out. So, it is just normal that some of them try they luck at other casinos when they are not working. Responsible gambling is a western concept, and in Macau this is a new idea and the local society is still going to take some time to under- stand and get used to it. Fong wants to see the


government raise the age- entry limit to casinos from 18 to 21 years, as is sug- gested in proposed gaming laws.


He also believes that


regional competition from Singapore and in the near future probably from Vietnam, Japan and even Taiwan, will force Macau to continue changing its model going from casino-hotels to integrated resorts, in order to attract people with more than just gambling.


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