These are some of the conclusions made by Fitch Ratings in its latest outlook on the industry, called “All In: Global Gaming Handbook”.
The ratings agency remarked that northern China remained what it termed an “underpenetrated” source market for visitors, stating that “less than two percent of Beijing residents” visited Macau in 2017.
During 2017, a total of 353,900 visitors from Beijing visited Macau, a majority of them travelling under mainland China’s exit visa system for independent travellers, known as the Individual Visit Scheme, according to the city’s Statistics and Census Service.
“Competition for northern Chinese players will remain intense for the foreseeable future with Japan recently legalising casinos [in principle] and Vladivostok’s Tigre de Cristal planning a US$500 million expansion,” the Fitch Ratings team wrote.
There are 17 casinos in South Korea, but only one of them – Kangwon Land – is allowed to accept bets from locals. In its latest compendium, the ratings agency remarked that it believed there was a “minimal chance” in the near to medium term of the country expanding gaming to nationals.
“South Korea’s foreigner-gaming market would have to grow exponentially from the current US$1.0 billion revenue base for all the Incheon licence holders to generate a strong return on investment,” Fitch Ratings stated.
Several casino resorts are reportedly either planned or under development in that location. They include: the casino resort “Inspire” being developed by Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, and a casino scheme being co-developed by U.S. casino group Caesars Entertainment Corp and mainland Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties.
Las Vegas Sands Corp could soon invest in South Korea, the firm’s chairman and chief executive Sheldon Adelson mentioned in a conference call with investment analysts following the first quarter announcements. On the same occasion, Adelson also referred to the possibility of South Korea licensing a second casino allowed to welcome locals.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
