Comment: 'Nobody asked me but...' - January 2008  

Mickey Charles, president and CEO of The Sports Network (pictured right), ponders the question: ‘Is Asia truly the next frontier for gaming?’ His conclusion? “It just might be but I do not think so, not yet.”

"Not yet? Where have you been lately? Whoa! Certainly not for the world of sports gambling...not now, tomorrow, next week, month, year or the foreseeable future. Unless someone starts taking wagers on table tennis - which may already be happening - gaming in Asia has to be relegated to table and casino games, from Mah Jong and Pai Gow to Pachinko, Craps, Baccarat and Blackjack, on and off the internet, preferably the former for the masses. Despite Macau's emergence as the Las Vegas of the Far East, with Asian countries from South Korea to Singapore opening casinos or weighing whether to roll the dice on legalised gambling, this is all about gambling and has little, or nothing, to do with the offshore community that thrives on sports wagering. Their internet casino sites, PartyPoker and much of poker in general aside, have not attracted billions from an Asian community hyperventilating for sports unless, of course, it involves Yao Ming or any one many of the Japanese baseball players now populating the major leagues in the US.

To Boldly Go?

But, is Asia the next frontier for gambling in general? That is another question, and world, altogether. And, yes, it has begun. Asia appears to be the most promising market for the expansion of the global casino gaming industry today based upon its sheer size and population, not to mention a near genetic and inherited addiction to gambling. If you thought a volcanic eruption, a tsunami, tidal waves or countless Lemmings going over the edge of a cliff aimlessly, just for the sake of following the flow, was impressive, Asia is going to grow at the fastest pace in the world over the next few years in the area of gaming although most of it is illegal. Now, there's an oxymoron of gargantuan proportions.
When I say, as I did at the outset, that I do not think so, not yet, my reference is to sports wagering and, to the best of my knowledge, sportsbooks from Costa Rica to Gibraltar, Antigua to Malta, Panama to London have recognised this. Sure, Victor Chandler, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power will entertain wagers on horse races and sporting events from Asian clients and I have seen some accept as much as £100,000 ($50,000) on credit but that is rare. Asian gambling is approaching legitimisation and going beyond the borders of Macau with the Chinese region overtaking the Las Vegas strip as the world's number one gaming market.
You can, literally and with some effort, money, experience and a punditic, skilled staff supported by a base of players, be in the sportsbook business tomorrow morning. The anticipated degree of success will vary but you are out there. However, becoming the next Steve Wynn, Donald Trump, Stanley Ho, MGM Mirage, Harrah's or casino/resort operator is to transform yourself into Bill Gates by morning. Face it. You are an observer, maybe a supplier, more than likely a playing participant and tourist but you are not the next grand marshal of the Asian Casino Holiday Parade. Not by a long shot.

It’s a numbers game

The mere fact that there are tens of millions of people in the Far East, and just about every one of them believes that gambling is their heritage, does not mean that they all can afford to go to Macau. Au contraire, the percentage that can, and does, is in single digit percentage figures but they do have the funds to outrace Nevada to the bank. Even the ‘smaller’ slot machine fanatics, the indomitable and determined who screw themselves into the seats on a near daily basis do not have the Yuans to compete at the higher stakes tables of any games. But, then again, slots are the lifeblood of the casino industry and that means just getting there - time to go, travel expenses, accommodations, money to play, wine/women/song, food. It does not take a superior sense of reality to know that those harvesting in rice paddies and others that are toiling in the sweatshops of the Orient to help manufacture products that will soon be on Fifth Avenue, Rodeo Drive, the stores that grace the Champs Elysee and Harrods in London, to name a few, are off to Macau with hopes of returning on their own jet or in the comfort of a Ferrari or Bentley.
Singapore, where jaywalking between Rickshaws is punishable by expulsion from the country (not really, but close!) and the government regulates everything from chewing gum to bedroom behaviour, now has two multi-billion dollar resorts/casinos underway, the 121-acre, $3.1bn Resorts World at Sentosa casino complex that will open in 2010 and the $3.2bn Marina Bay Sands, slated to open in 2009. South Korea last year opened three casinos, bringing its total to 17 but forbids its citizens from betting in all but one of them. And Singapore is imposing a $60 entrance fee to weed out would-be bettors who can't afford to see their cash vanish at the slot machines or blackjack tables. Taiwan confirmed that it's considering allowing casinos - likely the $600m offering on Taiwan's Penghu Island but forbidden elsewhere.
Japan's $250bn-a-year Pachinko business is in trouble if they legalise casino gambling. The claim being bandied about is the current estimate that 90% of Asians will live in ‘middle-income’ ambience and comfort by 2020. That means millions of consumers with cash to spend on entertainment, on gambling. Still, you have to be the one, if it comes to fruition, that is building the resort/casino or the company that supplies them with everything from food to soap, towels to slots, cards to entertainment.

The rules of the game

But, once again, what of the internet and gambling in the world of high-tech?

"If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: The rules of the game, the stakes and the quitting time." Chinese Proverb

Internet gambling is quickly rendering this piece of ancient wisdom refutable as it spreads across the Far East, bringing with it games that never end, rules that are very much in flux and, for those who would provide it to the masses, stakes best suited to players with near-bottomless pockets.
Operators of gambling websites have long viewed Asia as the promised land for their borderless product. However, there is the unending problem of moving money in and out of many countries and a lack of a reliable telecoms infrastructure, not to mention ready access to the Internet by potential customers over the past decade, the 13-year old hackers in Beijing aside. Those problems still exist to some extent, and Asia remains a daunting place to do business for the uninitiated, but those who have been targeting the continent from the beginning have told anyone that would listen, that asks, that the landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. It might be your turn to become a gardener."

Mickey Charles
mcharles@sportsnetwork.com
President & CEO
The Sports Network

Gaming Expo hits Lisbon

The next edition of the International Gaming Conference & Expo (IGCE), produced by The Sports Network, will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, 22-24 April 2008, at the Corinthia Lisboa Hotel.

Registration will be accompanied by reservations for specific luncheon seating with designated speakers on a first come, first served basis and attendees cannot sit with the same speaker on both days of the conference so that all have an opportunity to network and interact with the faculty members.  

Additional information on the conference is available by e-mailing Amanda Manero at amanda@sportsnetwork.com or by calling +1 215/441-5887 or going to www.igconference.com to register.

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