Macau, China, May 7, 2025 (Lusa) - A Macau casino operator said on Wednesday that the opening of casinos in Japan and the potential legalisation of gambling in Thailand will increase competition for Asian punters.
The director for global development of US company MGM Resorts International, which operates two casinos in Macau, said the new gambling concessions accelerated the transition from a model based on high rollers to "a more diversified tourism and entertainment economy".
Macau's six casino operators signed 10-year concession agreements in December 2022, pledging to invest 108.7 billion patacas (€11.95 billion) in tourism and diversifying the economy.
"Strengthening cultural attractions, entertainment for families (...) has helped to attract wider demographic groups than the traditional gamblers," defended Ed Bowers.
But he warned that "competition is intensifying in the Asian markets, particularly with Japan and potentially Thailand".
On 24 April, MGM started building Japan's first casino-integrated development, in Osaka, which is scheduled to open in 2030.
The Thai government has submitted a proposal to legalise gambling.
"This is great news for casino development people like me," said Bowers, who pointed out that Thailand “already benefits from a strong tourism infrastructure”.
But discussion of the proposal in parliament was postponed at the beginning of April, "probably due to increased political opposition" to the idea, acknowledged the director.
Bowers was speaking during the Global Gambling Expo Asia, the largest gambling industry event held in Macau, which will run until Friday.
In another session at the same event, experts argued that in the face of increased regional competition, betting on non-gambling attractions such as concerts, theme parks and gastronomy could bring more people to casinos.
"We built all of this to support our casino, the casino is our financial engine," said Wade Howk, director of operations at Inspire Entertainment Resort, an inclusive resort in South Korea with a casino exclusively for foreigners.
The session focused on the diversification of Macau's economy, where casino taxes accounted for 88.4% of the Chinese region's current revenue in the first three months of the year.
But the authorities want the non-gambling sector to account for 60% of Macau's Gross Domestic Product by 2028.
As an example, Wade Howk emphasised that Inspire Entertainment has built a 15,000-seat entertainment venue, the only multi-purpose cultural arena in South Korea, to increase visitor numbers.
"We're seeing huge results from that now, and then we built an indoor water park (...), just to make sure we could leverage traffic to support the whole property, (...) and that could be utilised to support the casino," Howk explained.
Jeffrey Kiang, an analyst with investment group CLSA, emphasised that non-gambling components should "create synergies and complement the business" of casinos.
Kiang noted an increase in the number of concerts held in Macau over the last two years and said that casino operators carefully select the events or performers that attract gamblers.
According to official figures, Macau received 9.86 million visitors up to March, 11.1% more than in the same period in 2024 and the second highest figure ever for a start to the year.
However around 59% of the visitors (5.82 million) arrived on organised tours and spent less than a day in the city, without sleeping in the city's hotels or guesthouses.
The gambling capital of the world, with revenues double those of the US city of Las Vegas, Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.
JW/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
