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Japan Asking All the Right Questions ASIA & OCEANIA


Japan’s tourism economy is about to undergo a massive shift, potentially introducing $10bn in integrated resorts, a positive move says UNLV


UNLV’s International Gaming Institute (IGI) say the Japanese government is asking all the right questions.


JAPAN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS


SOUTH KOREA – Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino has signed a deal with Interblock that will bring electronic table games to Jeju-Do Island in South Korea for the first time ever.


Formally known as THE Hotel & Las Vegas Casino, Bloomberry Resorts, owners of Solaire Casino Resort in the Philippines, acquired the property in 2015 and was remodeled and rebranded as Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino.


The installation will consist of a 26-seat Diamond Stadium composed of a live Baccarat dealer table, Automated Roulette and Automated Sic Bo generators. Players will have the ability to play up to three games at a time from one play station. Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino will also bring Interblock’s Organic product line to its casino floor including Organic Roulette with eight seats and Organic Sic Bo with eight seats.


Mr. Michael Hu, Vice President of Asia at Interblock, said “It has been an honor to partner and collaborate with Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in order to make this vision a reality. We look forward to providing a wide range of ETG content for the first time in Jeju Island, which will give players new gaming experiences and provide Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino with new revenues from their players. This is an exciting time for this province, this casino and for Interblock.”


Attendees at the signing event included: Executives of Bloomberry Resorts and Jeju Sun's parent company, members of tourism associations, tourism officials and inbound travel agencies.


AUSTRALIA – Slot design specialist Lightning Box has secured a new agreement with High 5 Games, one of the pioneers of social casino gaming. The Australian supplier becomes High 5 Games’ first ever external content partner, with the initial deal set to include five titles that will launch exclusively over the next 12 months on High 5 Casino.


Chilli Gold will be the first Lightning Box title to go live on 7th Dec 2017, followed by Silver Pride (known as Silver Lion in Europe) in early 2018. Both titles already have a strong following in the US land-based casino market, having enjoyed successful integrations with Incredible Technologies and Everi.


Peter Causley, Lightning Box Managing Director and co-founder, said: “We are delighted to be working with High 5 Games as we look to grow our business across all channels. “High 5 were one of the first companies to bring gaming to social media and we are confident we can make their first third party deal a successful one with a product that has already proven popular with US players.”


P34 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / 247.COM


Japanese government officials and business leaders commissioned research from IGI’s Bo Bernhard, Brett Abarbanel, and Jennifer Roberts as well as Kahlil Philander of Washington State University to guide their nation in launching Japan’s first integrated resorts. Now available to the public, the two extensive reports the team produced provide some of the most comprehensive information that any jurisdiction has been able to utilise prior to integrated resort implementation.


Te first report, entitled ‘Socio-Economic Impacts of Japanese Integrated Resorts,’ is a socioeconomic analysis of the impacts of an integrated resort casino, with a particular emphasis on Japan’s stated goals, including striking a balance between growing the Japanese tourism market while minimising social costs such as addiction and crime.


Te report states: “Te addition of a major tourism-oriented IR development would complement this existing economy and infrastructure with some significant socio- economic advantages. “In fact, of all of the ways in which the gambling act can be commercialised, this type of IR achieves the tourism metrics sought by Japan. Crucially, policymakers have a significant opportunity at


Crown facing investor legal action over China arrests


China


Under fire Australian operator Crown Resorts is being sued by investors who claim they were not given enough information about the risks being taken in China where marketing the company’s casinos resulted in the arrest of 18 employees.


Class action specialists Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said the case was being brought on behalf of hundreds of investors following a steep share price drop of 14 per cent on October 17, 2016, when news of the arrests first broke. Employees were held for 10 months, Crown was forced out of China and its VIP revenues in Australia were severely impacted.


this stage to positively impact how the IRs contribute to these desired goals.”


Te second report is called Practical Perspectives on Gambling Regulatory Processes for Study by Japan: Eliminating Organised Crime in Nevada Casinos. It examines how gaming regulation can help Japan eliminate organised crime in casino management—a crucial first step in a new casino jurisdiction—suggesting rigorous standards in pre-licensing background investigations, post-licensing enforcement structures, internal controls and compliance practices that reflect the highest global standards, and more.


Te report says: “Embracing this regulatory approach to prevention and/or elimination of organised crime will be especially crucial for a number of reasons. Te global gaming industry (as well as the general public) is well aware that the Yakuza have been active in gambling activities in Japan, which mandates an aggressive approach. And for Japan to attract the kind of globally-competitive capital investment in its integrated resorts, there can be no association with organised crime at all – the banks, the investment community, and the most respected casino operators simply will not (indeed, cannot) participate.”


Maurice Blackburn's Head of Class actions Andrew Watson said: “Shareholders should have been appraised of the risks that Crown was taking in China and the threat they posed to the company's revenue streams. Chinese authorities could not have made the risks of marketing gambling any plainer to Crown or other casino operators, yet Crown ignored these warnings. Fortunately in Australia, companies can be held accountable via the class action mechanism, for breaching their legal obligations to make timely and accurate disclosures to the market. Tose failures affect many, many people."


Crown, has since sold of all its interests in its partnership with Melco, said: "Te proceeding has been filed on behalf of persons who acquired an interest in Crown shares and will be vigorously defended.”


Philippines


Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has confirmed that a new council will be formed to oversee the technicalities in the sale of PAGCOR-owned casinos.


It will be made up from executives from the Office of the President (OP), the DOF, the Department of Justice, the Department of Budget and Management and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations.


Mr. Dominguez said: ““We have a Privatisation Management Office, but PAGCOR is a special case. It is the licenses that we are privatising. Its more technical. Quite frankly, we admit it’s more technical than what the PMO can handle.”


PAGCOR owns 46 casinos in the Philippines.


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