Asia Excellent Market Says US Gaming Official

We all know that Asia’s gambling industry is thriving irrespective of the current recession that grips the global markets. Frank Fahrenkopf, president and chief executive of the American Gaming Association can’t agree more. He said, “There is a tremendous potential for growth in Asia as the demand for gaming here far exceeds current supply.”

“The gaming sector, like most other industries, is not recession- proof, but it is known that during harsh economic times, people tend to specially save up money in order to spend the weekend at casinos and escape from their daily lives.”

Asia the Gambling Giant

Let’s be honest when it comes to any form of gambling Asian punters don’t muck around! It stems mainly from a culture of gambling, rising middle class who have more cash to spend than ever before and a very large population. Fahrenkopf is one of the main speakers at this year’s Global Gaming Expo Asia. The venue for the Asian gaming industry would be held at the Venetian Macao this week.

Fahrenkopf said, “Since the Asian economy is not severely affected by the global financial stress and mainland projected growth remains at a relatively high rate of 7 to 8percent, it is improbable that the Asian gaming market will shrink in the near future.”

In the next five years there is more than enough space in Asia to accommodate the thousands of new gambling tables. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have started new development projects since these countries aim to emulate the gaming success of Singapore and Macau. The influx of gamblers to Macau from mainland China and the rest of Asia has been enormous, as a result Macau is expanding its gambling industry to handle the enormous demand.

Steve Wynn American gaming entrepreneur said that he obtained a land grant for his second casino. He named it the Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group, plans have been drafted to build the HK$16 billion second phase of its Galaxy Macau integrated resort. However, Standard & Poor’s an Asia-Pacific consultancy firm warned that too much expansion could be seen as “medium-term risks.”

Fahrenkopf pointed out that the Asian gaming industry is not over- saturated at this stage, reason being there are too many new punters, because in Asia the casino market is supply-driven.

He also asked, “Are there too many Starbucks?”

“Well, the market will tell us when there are too many. The same thing is true in the gaming industry.”

He concluded by saying that today’s modern casinos have turned into gaming complexes and they have gone over and beyond conventional gambling services. Unfortunately if governments start over-regulating the casino industry it might have a negative impact on its growth.