Inside Gaming: Hong Kong Bridge Contributes to Revenue Growth in Macau
Table Of Contents
This week's Inside Gaming begins with a look at the latest gaming revenue figures from Macau where October represented yet another positive month, shares news of a new casino program about to launch in Vietnam, tells of United Kingdom online gaming operators getting hit with fines, and reports on the latest U.S. state to offer sports betting.
Another Positive Month for Macau Casinos
It has been a while since we've looked in on gaming revenue figures from Macau, a subject that during the 26-month period of decline lasting from June 2014 to July 2016 had been a frequent topic of concern given the Special Administrative Region's strategic importance to the overall health of the gambling industry.
Since August 2016, however, gaming revenue in Macau has been steadily moving upward again, enjoying yet another month of growth in October with a 2.6 percent increase year-over-year to just over 27.3 billion patacas or about $3.39 billion USD according to the latest "Monthly Gross Revenue from Games of Fortune" report from Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
The total represents the most gaming revenue for Macau in four-and-a-half years (since March 2014). It also makes 27 straight months of revenue increases for Macau casinos, with double-digit gains in many months including several with greater than 25 percent increases.
However, gaming revenue has yet to recover all of the way back to the totals of 2013-2014 during its peak period, with the 38 billion ($4.71B USD) in February 2014 representing the all-time high.
The annual "Golden Week" public holiday was one factor helping to enable the October increase, with another being the celebrated opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on October 24 after more than eight years' worth of construction. The massive bridge-tunnel system extends 34 miles (55 kilometers), making the HZMB the longest sea crossing on the planet.
GGRAsia reports that the number of visitors to Macau increased in October as well to 3.15 million, up 9.2 percent over the previous year and a 23.2 percent increase over September when Typhoon Mangkhut affected Macau, including shuttering casinos for a a day-and-a-half.
Of those visitors in October, 71,640 came over the HZMB during the final week of the month. Visitors' average length of stay was 1.2 days.
Vietnam Casino Pilot Project to Launch Next Year
In other gambling news from Asia, the central government of Vietnam has approved a casino project on Phu Quoc Island, part of a three-year pilot program designed to foster in the opening other casinos and auto and horse racing facilities, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.
The casino on Phu Quoc will be part of a larger resort and entertainment complex scheduled to open next year. The next stage will be the casino's acquisition of a license to operate from regulators. Meanwhile seven other casino projects are currently in the works as well, all having already obtained licenses to operate, with three more under construction with licenses pending.
At the moment debate continues in Vietnam over just how open the new casinos will be. The licenses obtained by those other seven casinos do not permit service to Vietnam residents, but the approval of the Phu Quoc facility does allow Vietnamese aged 21 or older and able to prove a minimum monthly income and lack of criminal record to use the casino.
According to Nikkei, the Vietnam government is currently seeking "to diversify sources of tax revenue, as access to international loans has been drying up," with the new casinos potentially providing new sources of revenue as well as inviting foreign investment.
U.K. Online Casino Companies Hit With Fines
Three different online gambling companies in the U.K. were hit with fines according to a report yesterday from the BBC.
The Gambling Commission collectively fined the three firms almost £14 million for failing to have in place "effective safeguards" to prevent money laundering as well as to protect customers from gambling.
Earlier this month the largest fine of £7.1 million was levied toward Daub Alderney, with fines for Casumo (£5.85 million) and Videoslots (£1 million) announced this week. Another company, CZ Holdings, gave up its license to operate in the U.K.
Regulators' review of the companies' practices had begun in February of this year, with findings in each case of companies having failed to monitor customers' activities adequately.
"I hope today's announcement will make all online casino operators sit up and pay attention," commented Neil McArthur, chief executive of the Gambling Commission. "We expect operators to know their customers and to ask the right questions to make sure they meet their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations."
Rhode Island Eighth State to Offer Sports Betting
The number of states that have begun to offer sports betting in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May lifting the nationwide prohibition keeps on going up. In fact, it's almost going up too quickly for a weekly gaming column to keep up.
Earlier this week Rhode Island made it eight when the Twin River Casino in Lincoln began accepting sports bets on Monday. According to NBC Boston, Twin River will begin offering sports betting as well in its second location in Tiverton starting Monday.
Rhode Island joins Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as states where sports bettors can legally place wagers.
At the moment ESPN has placed New York and Arkansas in their "on-deck circle" for sports betting.
Images: "West section of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge," N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0; "The highway and undersea tunnel routes of the Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB)," Kellykaneshiro, CC BY-SA 4.0.
