Asian Casinos poised to profit from the online gambling market

[Shame About Ray]

Courtesy Macau Daily Times

Galaxy Entertainment Group is making moves to capitalise on an eventual legalising of internet gaming in the Mainland, said the deputy director this week.

Speaking at the Asian i-Gaming conference at the Venetian Macao, Francis Lui, deputy chairman of the Macau gaming concession holder said the company was already making moves to capture the potentially huge business opportunity.

Galaxy is very excited by this business opportunity [online gaming in the Mainland] and we have established a foundation through an agreement with an internet cafe operator in China , he said.

Online betters in Asia are used to paying in person rather than through the internet. Internet cafes provide a convenient location for gaming sites to sell online credits.
However the casino chief's optimism of a policy shift appears to be based on social and technological changes rather than government moves.

Most forms of gaming continue to remain outlawed in the Mainland, including online betting. Although the Chinese propensity for gaming could eventually see a change in position from the government, suggested Mr Lui.

There is undoubtedly a latent demand for online gambling and in time the market could open up to a limited number of operators located in China, said Mr Lui.

The required technology platform is already in place which is seeing the Mainland consumer demanding more sophisticated entertainment and communication methods, said Mr Lui.

The Mainland has 67 million internet hosts, 167 million internet users and more than 450 million mobile phone users, the deputy chairman presented during the conference's key-note address.

In the event of the policy change, casinos in Macau were ideally positioned to provide the Mainland government with a controlled gaming model, he continued.

Gambling in all markets is highly regulated and government will naturally seek assurances on under-age participation, problem gambling, content management and probity, prior to advancing the debate, he said before adding that Casino operators such as Galaxy Entertainment have the necessary experience in dealing with government and providing the required assurances.”

Online gaming should be introduced as an extension to land-based casinos, said Mr Lui, with any new product integrated where possible as part of the casino product offering on the gaming floor, in any adjoining hotel and in a mobile form .

However, as the experience of other technology based entertainment companies shows, any introduction of online gaming will require its implementers to tread carefully.
Only last month the Chinese government said it would issue new rules cracking down on "undesirable" elements of online games [non-gambling] amid fears of growing internet addiction as the number of players soars, said Mr Lui.

According to Xinhua news agency, the number of online game players in China rose 23 percent to 40 million last year with sales of online games jumping more than 61 percent to 10.57 billion Yuan.

Just as gaming companies have overcome initial opposition to casinos in jurisdictions such as Singapore, online operators will have to win the trust of the Mainland government through their ability to manage players and avoid any adverse impact on the community, said Mr Lui.

In the meantime Galaxy will use technology to attract customers to its Macau casinos, said Mr Lui. The immediacy and timeliness of online and SMS promotional offers and product information is compelling to many gamers. Therefore, we can assume gamers are happy to receive casino related content while making their way to Macau and during their time in Macau .

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