While Asia continues to lead the way in gaming revenues, the EMEA region has been the “hardest hit” by the economic downturn, new research has revealed.
PricewaterhouseCoopers' latest casino gaming market report forecast global compound annual revenue growth of 9.2 per cent over the next five years, rising from $117.6bn to $182.8bn in 2015.
The most dramatic growth, the company predicted, will be seen in the Asia Pacific region, which will experience an 18.3 per cent increase compounded annually to $79.3bn in 2015, overtaking the US as the largest regional market in the world. The latter is expected to see spending rise by five per cent to $73.3bn.
The strengthening Asian economies, burgeoning Chinese middle class and a host of new opportunities to participate in gaming are fuelling this growth, explained PwC’s lead gaming partner, David Trunkfield.
“Singapore’s dramatic emergence as a casino gaming centre is a prime example of new territories entering the market,” he said. “Revenues have surged from zero in 2009, to $4bn in 2011 and a predicted $7bn by 2015. The improvement in transport links to key casino gaming markets, such as Macau, and the easing of regulations is also contributing to the increase in revenues.”
Growth within the EMEA countries will be far weaker, however.
“The casino gaming market in EMEA has been the hardest hit of any region by the economic downturn, with revenues slumping by 12 per cent in 2009, followed by a further 7.2 per cent in 20120, the third consecutive annual decline,” Trunkfield said.
Revenues in EMEA are likely to reach $18.3bn in 2015, up from $16.3bn in 2010 – an average annual increase of 2.4 per cent.
“The weak economic conditions and the impact of adverse regulatory developments in some countries will curtail growth.”
