G3Newswire ASIA & OCEANIA GAMING NEWS
WWW.G3NEWSWIRE.COM
YO-YO DIET SESSION: WAIT AND LOSS
The casino bill is back in Diet discussions, but it’s doubtful whether Japan can introduce resort casinos before Olympics Japan - Casino licensing
Japanese lawmakers are expected to present a bill to legalise casino-style gaming during the current Diet session although the prospects for a casino opening in time for the 2020 Olympics remains extremely doubtful.
FIJI – PLUG PULLED ON ONE HUNDRED SANDS Casino developer One hundred Sands has been stripped of its licence by the Fiji government having failed to open its casino project three years after the proposed opening date.
One Hundred Sands was given a 15 year exclusive casino license for the construction of a $290m casino and resort in Denarau Nadi in December 2011. The construction of the 20,000 slot, 5,000 table casino was due to start in 2012.
One Hundred Sands was granted two licences, one in Denarau island in Nadi and one in Suva. It broke ground on the project in April 2012 but then ran into problems on securing the land with delays then following. One Hundred Sands has racked up fines of US$1.1m and is now likely to be sued by its partner Native American Snoqualmie Tribe which ploughed US$1.5m into the failed project.
CHINA – LEGEND CALLS FOR MORE MACAU LICENCES Macau Legend Development has called for Macau’s govern- ment to issue satellite casino licences and extend the num- ber of companies operating in the region to boost competi- tion and drive revenue. Mr. Chow, a former Macau law maker, said: “The government should encourage the development of local businesses and allow companies that have con- tributed to the development of Macau, such as those operat- ing satellite casinos, to receive a gaming licence. If they get a licence, it would help develop and foster fair competition. I think they have to understand that there needs to be more competition, instead of protecting the current six operators.”
His comments came as Macau Legend opened its first new hotel, Harbourview Hotel, of the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf redevelopment project, contributing an additional 389 rooms and 55 suites to the tourism market of Macau Peninsula.
Mr. Chow, said: “Both the Central Government and the Macau SAR Government have stressed the importance that Macau should promote the diversification of its economy and to accelerate the development of leisure tourism, convention and exhibition businesses. Harbourview Hotel and the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf redevelopment project are positive con- tribution towards this
direction.This would not be possible without the contributions of so many people, especially our group of dedicated staff and our esteemed partners, and the support from the Macau Government. We are all very excited to open our doors to Macau and the world and show the waterfront of Macau Peninsula.”
Mr. Chow added, “In 2014, there were around 31.5m visitors to Macau, a 7.5 per cent increase from the previous year; with visitors from Mainland China increasing by 14 percent to over 21.2 million. We believe that there will be continuous demand for quality hotel accommodation and peripheral leisure tourism services which we are adding year by year to the entire Macau Fisherman’s Wharf redevelopment proj- ect.”
3 4
The current Japanese Diet session began on January 26 and will run until June 24. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to discuss over 70 bills. Whilst a pre-Olympic casino looks doubtful, the emerging favourites to host the first casinos are now Osaka and Yokohama.
Over 20 Japanese municipalities have expressed interest in casino resorts but political backing seems strongest in Osaka and Yokohama. Officials in Osaka have set up a joint committee to discuss the specifics of bringing a gambling resort to the man-made island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay.
The 2015 budget has reserved money to continue this research. Governor Ichiro Matsui still wants to open a casino by 2020. “The Tokyo Olympics will bring lots of people around the world to Japan, and, along with an integrated resort, all of Osaka wants to have something for them,” Governor Matsui said. In Yokohama, Mayor Fumiko Hayashi has also continued with budget founded research into casinos with land close to Yamashita Park is the preferred location.
Takashi Kiso, CEO of the Tokyo-based
International Casino Institute, said legislation is still a long way off. “The only way an IR will open (by 2020) is if the government allows it to partial- ly open before the Olympic games,” he explained.
“The annexed document of the IR promotional bill indicated the government would develop qualifi- cations for areas of IR development after the pro- motional bill is enacted. Moreover, the location will be selected through a bidding process among local governments.”
Legalisation of casinos in Japan will certainly be one of the hot topics during the 150-day session. Meanwhile, it was reported that Yokohama and Osaka will probably be the first Japanese cities where luxurious integrated resorts featuring casi- nos are to be built.
Union Gaming Group said: “We are less convinced that the opening of casinos in Tokyo and Osaka would be the right move out of the gate, as those markets do not fit the original reasoning behind the push to legalise casinos in Japan, to spur eco- nomic development by encouraging tourism in under-visited regions of Japan. Japan has no shortage of domestic or international tourists to Tokyo or Osaka. Commonly referred to as the
‘Golden Route,’ the route is taken by more than 90 percent of all tourists to Japan.”
Mongolian government to vote on casino bill to tap into Macau
MONGOLIA Mongolia’s government is likely to approve draft legislation to develop resort casinos to tap into gambling markets such as Macau and become less dependent on the mining industry.
The Cabinet Secretariat approved a draft of a bill on February 12 that would target private partner- ships to build two casinos target- ing China’s VIP market. Casino legislation in France, the United States, Singapore and Korea was all analysed before drafting the bill.
An unnamed government official is quoted as commenting: “Russia, China and Japan are some of the biggest gamblers in the world. Japan and Russia already don’t need visas for Mongolia, and Chinese with offi-
cial passports don’t either. Xi Jinping has plans for restrictions on Macau and business is shrink- ing now, so hopefully we can get tourists that might have travelled to Macau.”
The legislation would bar Mongolians from playing at casi- nos, similar to countries like Vietnam and South Korea. One potential location Khushigt International Airport is currently being built by Japanese partners Mitsubishi Corp and Chiyoda Corp.
Australia NextGen Gaming, the Sydney, Australia based games studio of NYX Gaming Group, is debuting its slot games on
paddypower.com, with the dual mobile and desktop launch of smash hit Merlin’s Millions Superbet. Merlin’s Millions Superbet offers players stunning 3D visuals and powerful anime with the likeable Merlin, the first of what has grown to become a three-game franchise featuring the character in his popular magical themed world. The Superbet functionality provides players the opportunity to leverage a unique five-level ante-bet, offering the potential of wild multiplied wins and putting players firmly in charge of their own play volatility.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108