From new technologies to governments moving the goal posts in gaming laws, the gaming industry is never static. To remain in the game, investors, manufacturers and operators must have contingency plans in place. Recently there have been several reports from around the world that emphasise the need for adaptability in the gambling market. In South America it has often been somewhat bitterly remarked that a five-year business plan is impossible and a one-year plan highly unlikely. It should be said that things are improving.

From Russia came news of a campaign by the authorities against the gambling industry; Singapore has had a rethink in its timetable for making a Request for Proposals for its two integrated resorts; and Macau is now reportedly considering banning slot machine revenue sharing amongst companies. These are news items from just this week. A couple of months ago the UK government finally ended the aspirations of many in the gaming industry when de-regulation became cautious regulatory law.

In Russia the proliferation of casinos and gambling machines is causing a backlash. Moscow alone now has 56 casinos and it has been suggested that all gambling establishments should be removed from the big cities. The regional authorities in Belograd have already been successful in removing gambling from their area. Newspapers are joining the anti-gambling campaigns of the politicians, and the burgeoning gambling industry that has been attracting the global gaming companies recently seems to be about to suffer a setback.

Singapore is to defer the formal issue of Requests for Proposals until September at the earliest. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, more time is needed to review the feedback from interested parties. There are twelve companies at the moment still drawing up their proposals for integrated resorts at the Marina Bay and Sentosa Island sites, and the delay in the timetable will affect construction dates. However, the delay could also mean a waiving of an original government plan to cap casino revenues to 50% of resort turnover, a plan criticised as being unworkable.

The world’s hottest gambling location has traditionally made its money from the high roller gaming tables, with slot machines more for decoration than for revenue production, but things are changing in Macau. Thousands of hotel rooms and more casinos being built will mean greater lower-level gambling, and the slot machines are due to come in from the cold. However, at the Asian Gaming Expo in Macau this week some joint ventures have been questioned, as revenue sharing bypasses government control of oversight on the companies originally granted operating rights. New slot machine regulations are expected to be issued later this year, and may include a demand that casinos acquire slot machines through the manufacturers and not through distributors.

So, the global gambling industry may be booming but it is seldom plain sailing. Even if operations run smoothly there are those unexpected tax hikes, regulatory changes and new technologies to consider. All jurisdictions produce major or minor earthquakes from time to time, and gaming companies mostly learn to cope with the aftershocks. (E-06.17.05)

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