Casino gaming is increasingly accepted as a revenue stream for Asian governments and the sector is set to continue growing phenomenally with Macau leading the way, industry players said Monday.

 From Australia to Singapore and other Asian countries, the region’s governments now recognise that integrated gaming “resorts”, offering casino facilities alongside entertainment and retail venues, are the way to attract more tourists and boost economic growth, they said.

 ”No longer is gaming considered a sin or a vice or a magnet for illegal activity. Gone is its reputation as a business operated by unsavoury characters,” said Mark Advent, chairman of Eighth Wonder, a privately-held gaming company based in Las Vegas.

 ”It is recognised that gaming in a competitive environment will stimulate economies, stabilise and grow tourism, and create an unprecedented excitement and a ‘buzz’ that is hard to compete with,” Advent said.

 ”There will be increasingly more opportunities presenting themselves and Singapore and Asia are destined to become a force to reckon with in gaming-related tourism.”

 Advent and other speakers were upbeat on the gaming industry’s growth prospects in Asia with the Chinese enclave of Macau seen as the front-runner in building some of the biggest and most glitzy facilities.

 The former Portuguese colony, which opened up its gaming sector four years ago, is blessed with a location beside the vast market of China, which has a population of 1.3 billion people.

 ”Given the development and location, we think it is going to be much, much bigger than what it is right now,” said Sonny Badiga, executive director and joint head of Asian real estate lodging and leisure at Swiss bank UBS.

 ”The fundamentals of the casino business are very robust going forward. I think we are all very excited about the Asian casino growth,” Badiga said.

 A report issued in June by ratings agency Standard and Poor’s predicted Macau could even overtake the Las Vegas Strip as the biggest gaming market in the world in terms of revenue, put at more than 10 billion US dollars within the next few years.

 Government figures showed Macau’s gaming houses reaped a bumper 2.8 billion US dollars in receipts for the first six months of last year.

 Hong Kong’s Galaxy Entertainment Group, which operates casinos in the enclave, agreed it was well placed to become Asia’s leading gaming resort destination.

 ”I believe we are not indulging in wishful thinking. It’s only a three-hour flight away from 1.3 billion people,” said Lui Che-Woo, Galaxy Entertainment Group’s chairman.

 He predicted more than 20 billion US dollars of foreign investment would be pumped into Macau over the next five years.

 A report on Monday said Las Vegas Sands plans to double its investment in casinos in Macau, spending more than eight billion dollars over the next four to six years.

 ”Most of the company’s investments and revenues will be in Asia,” Bill Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

 In May, Singapore awarded Las Vega Sands the city-state’s first casino licence wit the firm to invest more than five billion Singapore dollars (3.15 billion US), making it one of the most expensive projects of its kind in the world. It casino resort is expected to open in 2009.

 Five other firms have expressed interest in a second Singapore casino project on Sentosa island.

 ”Singapore in our opinion could be poised to become the Monte Carlo of Asia,” said Advent, whose firm is one of those which has expressed interest in the Sentosa development.

 Bahamas-based Kerzner International, South African casino operator Sun International, US gaming giant Harrah’s Entertainment and Malaysia’s Genting International have also expressed an interest in Singapore’s second licence. (Agence France Presse)

Technorati Tags: macau casino, singapore casino, gaming, gambling, economy, macau, galaxy entertainment, las vegas sands, UBS Bank

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