Research Library

10 Trends – ROI from the IRs

Posted on November 25, 2018

With competition increasing in casino markets across the world, many of the more astute casino operators are expanding and/or repositioning their facilities to differentiate themselves from their competition to better meet the needs of their customers. These operators have realized that they must create compelling environments and engaging experiences to fully penetrate their marketplaces and improve property performance.

Globally, casino operators have utilized the phrase “integrated resort” as a catalyst to redefine the casino experience. This strategy is not new, as it has been employed in markets like Las Vegas, Singapore and Macau. However, recent developments in these markets have truly reimagined the concept.

View Full Article Read More

10 Trends – Play On

Posted on November 25, 2018

With the recent repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in the United States, sports betting has become one of the most talked-about topics in the industry. In the coming year, as states and U.S. territories examine how to address PASPA’s repeal, operators will be faced with a significant challenge: creating a suite of products that can effectively compete with the illegal market in a variety of regulatory environments.

To accomplish this task, operators will attempt to do several things, including but not limited to securing access to data, developing in-play/in-game wagering products, and identifying other unique products that can help them enhance fan engagement and viewership, and subsequently help them satisfy all stakeholders.

View Full Article Read More

10 Trends – Rating the Rising Sun

Posted on November 25, 2018

Japan may look like it will be a sleeping giant in 2019, but the upcoming year may prove to be the most critical year in Japan’s march toward integrated resort development. Japan took a major step forward this year with the passage of the IR Implementation Bill and the Basic Bill on Gambling Addictions Countermeasures.

Next year will be one of the more critical years in the process as Japan contemplates the largest land-based gaming opportunity since Singapore in the mid-2000s. While outside observers may not see significant progress, a regulatory framework will be established in 2019 that will likely include more than 300 regulations. These regulations will determine the true market potential and scope of Japan’s three integrated resorts.

View Full Article Read More

New York State of Mind: What happened to the state’s casinos?

Posted on October 25, 2018

For decades, casino operators viewed the potential for casinos in the Catskills region of New York as the mother lode of gaming development.

The region’s proximity to the New York City metropolitan area and its history as a vacation destination made it a near ideal location for casino development. State legislators also saw casinos in upstate New York, a region that has had difficulty recovering from the loss of a host of manufacturing industries, not only as a tool for economic development, but tax revenue.

In 2013, the New York state legislature passed the Upstate New York Economic Development Act, which provided the legal framework for commercial casinos in the state. The act went into effect on January 1, 2014. When signing the bill, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, “This new law will bring the state one step closer to establishing world-class destination gaming resorts that will attract tourists to upstate New York and support thousands of good-paying jobs as well as new revenue for local businesses. For too many years, gaming revenue has left New York for our neighboring states.”

View Full Article Read More

Research Brief: U.S. House Hearing on Sports Betting

Posted on September 27, 2018

Today, The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Post-PASPA: An Examination of Sports Betting in America.” The subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, chaired by Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-5), heard testimony from five stakeholders related to sports betting. This included, in the
order presented:

• Jocelyn Moore, Executive Vice President, Communication and Public Affairs with the
National Football League
• John Warren Kindt, Professor with the University of Illinois
• Sara Slane, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs with the American Gaming Association
• Jon Bruning, Former Nebraska Attorney General and Counselor to the Coalition to Stop
Online Gambling
• Becky Harris, Chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board

View Full Article Read More

Vietnam’s Strip: The central coast of Vietnam is likely to become the next region with multiple destination casinos and integrated resorts

Posted on September 17, 2018

The Strip” has long been a popular term in the casino industry. Originally used to describe Las Vegas Boulevard from Sahara Avenue south to Russell Road, the term was adopted to describe clusters of casinos and hotels in other jurisdictions including the Cotai Strip in Macau and, most recently, for a proposed multi-property development called the Osaka Strip in Osaka, Japan.

While the latter development remains a possibility, a new strip of hotels, resorts and casinos is quickly emerging on the central coast of Vietnam, in and around Da Nang: the Central Coast Strip, stretching from Hoi An to Hue.

View Full Article Read More

Cambodia Rising

Posted on September 16, 2018

Major casino operators have long perceived Cambodia as a tertiary gaming market – a collective mix of border casinos that catered to residents of adjacent countries seeking a convenient place to gamble. The absence of robust gaming regulations further discouraged larger operators from considering acquisitions or developments in the Kingdom. That perception is changing.

Anticipated changes in the regulatory environment coupled with dramatic growth in casino markets throughout the country has caused casino developers to take a closer look at Cambodia.

View Full Article Read More

Sleeping Giant: Brazil is one of the few strong opportunities for IR development

Posted on July 16, 2018

While most of the gaming world is focused on Japan as the next emerging market, a battle continues south of the Equator to legalize gaming in Brazil. This untapped market could serve as the cornerstone for gaming development in the region if it were to become a fully regulated market. With the world’s fifth largest population, Brazil serves as one of the few strong opportunities left as an emerging jurisdiction for integrated resorts.

Brazil is one of the few large countries that does not have legalized gaming, and local stakeholders have come to believe that it puts them at a disadvantage to compete as a tourism destination at the international level. Like many potential gaming jurisdictions, local politicians see the case for integrated resorts as a way to generate tourism and economic development.
One of the best cases of this that is still used in jurisdictions like Japan and Brazil is the growth that Singapore saw with the addition of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa in 2010. Brazil, which is coming off of hosting the Olympics two years ago, looks to continue to build its tourism with IRs serving as a base to attract individuals to the region.

View Full Article Read More

An Introduction to Sports Betting Operations

Posted on July 1, 2018

With the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), Indian casinos, commercial casinos, state governments, lotteries, and racetracks are all examining the feasibility of offering sports betting in their jurisdictions and creating legislative paths to bring sports betting to fruition. Sports leagues are also taking an active role, lobbying state legislators and even trying to get Congress to pass legislation that would federally mandate that they receive a cut of total wagering handle.

View Full Article Read More

The Quiet Casino Boomtown

Posted on May 17, 2018

As the gaming industry’s collective attention is focused on what casino development might look like in Japan, a small seaside resort town on the coast of Cambodia is quietly emerging as the
world’s fastest-growing gaming jurisdiction. The town is called Sihanoukville.

Sihanoukville is a port city and down-market vacation destination on the Gulf of Thailand in southwest Cambodia. It has long appealed to backpackers
for its pristine beaches and low-priced accommodations. It also has served as a gambling and vacation destination for Thais and Chinese.

View Full Article Read More