MYANMAR CONSIDERS CASINO BILL
Until recently one of the most isolated economies on the planet, Myanmar is now forging ahead with big casino plans Myanmar - Legislation
Casino licences may be issued to local hotels fol- lowing the completion of a gambling law, though some still question whether the country ought to have legalised gambling.
While local media has reported that three-star and above hotels near border crossings will be allowed to operate casinos for foreigners only, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism officials say any such licences must wait for a gambling law.
“We haven’t issued any licences for casinos yet because it is still considered a type of illegal gam- bling,” said U Myo Win Nyunt, a director from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The Ministry of Home Affairs is currently working to create a gambling law, he added.
Several casinos currently exist in Myanmar, but they are unregulated and located in border areas primarily to serve patrons in China and Thailand, where gambling is illegal. It is common to see slot machines and table games bustling with players, even though regulation and control remains large- ly insecure.
The decision to issue special licenses to open a brick-and-mortar casino in some strategic areas of the country is motivated by the idea that this would help the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to attract a new kind of gambling-oriented tourism.However, it’s expected that the Myanmar government will come under fire from various protest groups campaigning for the prevention of
Macau Entrepreneur Stephen Hung has purchased the largest Rolls-Royce Phantom fleet in the world, placing an order for 30 Bespoke Extended Wheel Base Phantoms for his Louis XIII hotel in Macau. This transaction represents the world’s single largest order of Rolls Royces ever. Two of the fleet will be the most expensive Phantoms ever commissioned. “Macau is rapidly evolving into the luxury capital of the world,” said Mr. Hung, “and we are honoured to have the opportunity to add to Macau’s many distinctions, the world’s largest fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, including the two most luxurious vehicles Rolls- Royce has ever built.
legalised casino gaming in the country.
After the complete segregation from the rest of the world imposed by the military that ruled the country from 1962 to 2011, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar tried to consolidate its econo- my by developing its tourism.
Tourism has been on the upswing since the 2011 reforms in Myanmar. The country welcomed two million foreign arrivals to the country last year, almost double the number in 2012.
Myanmar routinely welcomed 750,000 to 800,000 tourists annually from 2009 to 2011.
Thailand was the largest single source of tourists to Myanmar in 2013, making up about 15 per cent of the total, followed by China and Japan. The United States was the largest non-Asian source, representing about six per cent of total arrivals.
Singapore aims to ban online gaming and foreign advertising
SINGAPORE Proposed new remote gambling legislation could change online gambling in Singapore if it is enacted. At the next sitting in Parliament, the legislation known as the Remote Gambling Bill will be debated in order to make it ille- gal to advertise online gambling to citizens in Singapore.
The bill’s initiative will be to ban websites that offer online gam- bling as well as a ban on advertis- ing and it will allow authorities to pressure banks and payment providers to block fund transfers to gaming operator websites.
“Exempted entities will be subject to strict operating conditions, in the areas of social safeguards, responsible gambling, gaming
integrity and law and order,” the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
The scope of the bill’s measures are all aimed towards protection of younger citizens and those vul- nerable from being harmed or exploited.
The remote gambling industry in 2012 was estimated at $44 billion with an annual growth of 9% which is five times that of conven- tional to restaurant gambling in Singapore. Now it is estimated that the remote-gambling market in Singapore along is said to be worth at least S$376 million and growing.
Restrictions will also apply to other forms of remote/online gam- bling on mobile devices and tele- phones.
AUSTRALIA – CROWN SECURES ‘SUPER’ DEAL James Packer’s Crown Resorts has secured a 17-year exten- sion to its Melbourne casino licence from the Victorian gov- ernment amid a raft of approvals that will bring more gaming tables and pokies to Crown’s gaming floor.
Crown Resorts confirmed it had reached agreement with the Victorian Government on a number of reforms to the Melbourne Casino Licence which will improve the competi- tiveness of the Crown Melbourne integrated resort as a tourism destination compared to other integrated resorts in Australia and Asia. Its Melbourne casino licence will be extended from 2033 to 2050.
The reforms will help boost Victorian tourism and create new jobs as they will allow Crown Melbourne to compete more effectively in interstate and international markets. Victorian taxpayers will also benefit from a substantial upfront licence payment to be made by Crown.
The agreement includes a ‘super tax’ on international and interstate VIP program play will be removed from FY15.
Crown will be allowed to increase its table games by 40, the maximum number of table games permitted to operate tak- ing it from 400 to 440 tables with an additional 100 poker tables.
It will also be allowed an extra 50 fully automated table game terminals, taking its total from 200 to 250. Within the state- wide limit of 30,000 gaming machines, Crown will be allowed to increase its number of gaming machines by 128, taking its total from 2,500 to 2,628.
Crown will make a series of payments to the State including a payment of $250m once the amendments to the relevant legislation, casino management agreement and casino licence become effective. A payment of $100m will be paid in FY23 if the normalised gaming revenue at Crown Melbourne grows by more than four per cent per annum from FY14 to FY22.
An additional payment of $100m will be made in FY23 if the normalised gaming revenue at Crown Melbourne grows by more than 4.7 per cent per annum (compound) over the peri- od from FY14 to FY22. There will also be a further payment of $250m in 2033. Crown has guaranteed to pay the State a minimum of $35m per annum in gaming taxes in relation to the new gaming product over the six-year period commenc- ing from FY16.
Crown and the Victorian Government have confirmed that, unless Crown consents, casino taxes will not be increased and the Melbourne Casino Licence will not be amended.
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