The opening of Japan’s casino market is the “big prize” for a number of operators, it has been claimed.
As casino gaming revenues in several mature markets continue to dip due to a variety of factors, attention is turning to new emerging markets, said Mark Jordan, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“Historically, growth in casino markets has been driven by increases in supply, facilitated through regulation, which has then helped serve unmet demand,” he explained. “The US is the traditional casino market, which has developed both through growth in casino convenience gaming and also by the development of a more resort-based proposition, as seen in Las Vegas.”
Continued growth in the US casino market is expected, particularly as states such as Massachusetts and Georgia add to their supply through new casino developments. However, the market there is now “relatively mature.”
“Growth in casino markets is likely to continue to come from Asian markets as this is where casino development is currently focusing, with a number of ongoing developments in South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines and further development coming on stream in Macau,” continued Jordan.
Then there is the possibility of legal casino gaming in Japan, a country with a population of close to 127 million.
“The big prize that a number of operators are considering right now is casino development in Japan, although the legislative momentum behind this appears to have slowed down recently. It should be noted that a lot of the developments being considered are more resort-type casinos, which now seems to be the direction of travel.”
But what of Europe, a market that suffered significantly in the wake of the recent economic downturn?
“The interesting question from our perspective,” said Jordan, “is whether recent declines in Macau and Singapore and the saturation of US markets might encourage operators to also start looking to Europe as a potential for casino development. While casino growth in Europe has been impacted by the recession, the current casino licensing process in Cyprus and the resort casino projects in Barcelona World may be the first signs of interest in the region.”
