Marina Wong (pictured), general manager of GLI Asia Ltd, said in comments to GGRAsia that GLI continues to support the growing casino sector in Asia Pacific.

“With over 15 years of operations in the Asia Pacific region, GLI is the most qualified and experienced independent gaming laboratory, providing extensive expertise and services related to all forms of regulated gaming,” she stated.

In the Philippines, GLI has “a strong presence,” noted the GLI Asia general manager, including “supporting land-based casinos through GLI’s testing and assessment services”.

GLI’s regional effort also includes helping equipment suppliers and Macau casinos ensure compliance with Macau’s Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Technical Standards version 2.0.

Although the new standards came into force on September 1, 2021 – during Macau’s previous gaming concession regime – there is currently a grace period until December 31, 2026, for all EGM’s in the market to be fully compliant with the new standards.

That will be part-way through the new 10-year casino concession system for Macau’s six operators that came into effect from January last year.

GLI’s Ms Wong noted: “The new concessions in Macau have brought attention to various aspects of gaming operations. While specific details may vary based on individual concession agreements, the overall focus remains on responsible gaming, security, and compliance.”

An area relating to responsible gambling is a clock that must be featured on the main screen of EGMs in the Macau market, to tell players how long they have been on the machine.

Ms Wong stated: “New slot machines supplied to the Macau market must have the clock feature as standard by the end of 2024.”

The clock will be displayed in 12-hour format in the bottom-right corner of the player’s main screen. It will flash at the beginning of each play session and at least every 10 minutes during the same session.

For machines already in the market, during the compliance grace period, it is necessary to “retrofit… slot machines with the necessary software to include the clock feature,” said Ms Wong.

In the Philippines land-based segment, “GLI’s expertise ensures that gaming equipment, systems, and platforms comply with regulatory standards” on behalf of casino operators, suppliers, and regulators, outlined the GLI Asia general manager.

For the online sector, she said GLI had been “a pioneer” in providing services to the Philippines-licensed offshore gaming operators.

The country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), approved in July last year new regulations for such entities, which were formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and are now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGLs).

Examples of GLI’s services to the online sector are: Internet Protocol [address] blocking; platform testing; random number generator (RNG) evaluations; analysis of maths and analysis of percentage return to player (RTP); game evaluations; and cybersecurity audits.

The GLI Asia general manager said that region-wide, casino operators and technology suppliers are increasingly seeking specialised support regarding cybersecurity.

But Ms Wong also noted: “In parallel, casino operators and technology suppliers actively expect dedicated cybersecurity services to be built into our support model for industry clients.”

“We have invested heavily in this area so that we could expand our cybersecurity services beyond cybersecurity audits and assessments, to secure hosting and real-time security monitoring, training, and education,” she said.

“We work with any industry, any size – to help mitigate risk, improve technologies, processes, systems, business infrastructure, and ensure compliance while securing customer’s data,” Ms Wong added.

“It would be good to have more specific and clear guidelines from the regulator in what concerns facial recognition technology at gaming tables,” Ms Saraiva said on Thursday. She was speaking during a panel session of the conference segment of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024 casino industry trade show in Macau.

Ms Saraiva was responding to a question about the use of ‘smart’ gaming tables in the context of the Macau market, and how to take advantage of the functions offered by such types of equipment – including making use of facial recognition and artificial intelligence for business purposes – while ensuring player data protection.

“One thing is to use facial recognition technology [in casinos] for security purposes,” Ms Saraiva elaborated. “A totally different thing is using that technology for marketing purposes.”

She added: “Clear guidelines would be welcomed… to alleviate any [compliance] concerns, and also for gaming operators to be able to know with some certainty what they can and cannot do on that front.”

The Macau authorities have been encouraging use of smart tables as a way for the city’s industry to manage more effectively casino operations. In that regards, several Macau operators have recently flagged plans to use radio frequency identification (RFID) gaming tables.

That was the consensus view of a representative of Australia’s The Star Entertainment Group, and of a former executive of Macau operator MGM China Holdings Ltd, the self-identified first mover with smart tables in the latter market. They were speaking on a Wednesday panel at the industry trade show G2E Asia 2024.

The Star Entertainment opted for technology from casino equipment supplier Angel Group. MGM China adopted products from Walker Digital Table Systems LLC (WDTS), according to the representatives.

Rick McDonald (pictured, third right), general manager of table games strategy at Star Entertainment, explained the learning process in the smart table deployment at The Star Sydney. It took around “six months”  to start achieving the firm’s “primary objectives” in terms of game protection, generation of play data for analytical purposes and to support player rating work.

“…Our initial deployment was in one room only… so about 60 [smart] tables: and we did not turn on all the features initially… we gradually started to bring things on,” said Mr McDonald.

He added: “But we’re continuously working in-house with Angel on ways to optimise understanding [on] what have been causing alerts and false positives; getting into the root cause of those in the dealer process, and how our processes need to be retrained for the way the guests are playing.”

Graeme Croft (pictured, second left), former vice president, table operations at MGM China, told the panel audience: “I think you need to brace it for six months before you see some changes.” He was referring the time it took for the Macau casino operator to start seeing operation benefits from the use of smart tables following their installation on the live gaming floors.

“The big thing is your staff – you need to have a very strong training team,” to teach colleagues how to use the technology effectively, said Mr Croft.

He noted: “There are a lot of ‘moving parts’ with the [smart table] system. Essentially, the gaming background doesn’t change, but there are some idiosyncrasies,” such as  side bets, “and there’s a lot to consider… you’ve got to get everyone on board. You’ve got to get all the departments in sync.”

Staff training – and ensuring multiple departments within the casino operator can adapt to how a live game process is managed post smart table deployment – are amongst the operational challenges, said Mr McDonald. Another is navigating the vast amount of play data generated from smart tables, and to identify the real issues from the data that the gaming operation should respond to, the Star Entertainment executive also noted.

There is a growing interests in Asia in the use of smart table solutions, said Stephen Moore (pictured, second right), founder and chief executive officer of Walker Digital.

“People aren’t saying: ‘Do I need a table game automation system that increases my goal?’. They are questioning: ‘Who [supplier wise] is the best for my operation?’ or, ‘Which one fits my technology preference?’… I don’t think you’ll see any casinos really open up anymore without some level of automation in there,”, said Mr Moore.

IGT’s Asia-Pacific (Apac) presence covers not only key markets including Macau, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea, but also Australia and New Zealand.

Even the wide scope of that setup is not a barrier to progress, says Charles Seo (pictured right), IGT’s senior director of commercial strategy for Asia. He told GGRAsia: “It’s about global strength, local focus.”

The company had a high “confidence level” regarding its products for Asian markets, he added.

For his part, Mr Orchard noted the company’s product display at the latest edition of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia in Macau was “the biggest stand we’ve ever had” at the event.

“We’ve got a whole host of brand new games built for Asia, not just being ported to Asia,” he stated.

Mr Orchard observed: “Our [product] road map for the remainder of 2024 into 2025 is purely focused on releasing the games into the first markets that they’ve been built for,” before “expanding” their coverage.

For the Macau market specifically, “we’ve got a lot of work to do,” he stated. “I think Light & Wonder [Inc] and Aristocrat [Gaming] have dominated the market for some time.

“We know that we’ve had to be much more dedicated to building product for this region,” as whole, “and delivering the technical standards for the region. That’s what we’ve been doing… and we’re not going to quit” until all the aims are realised, Mr Orchard explained.

While Macau, the Philippines and Singapore are “all different, with different regulatory requirements,” IGT’s work done “over the last few years, is to understand what gameplay mechanics need to be in each of those regions, to set us up for success”.

The group’s “Prosperity Link” slot product has the potential to serve all the above markets, while “Cash Cove”, which is largely built for the Singapore market, “does perform in other parts of Asia,” stated Mr Orchard.

He noted that “Ji Cai Shen” (also pictured) was “built for Macau,” but with appeal for other parts of Asia.

The senior executive told GGRAsia that for Asia Pacific the group “consolidated” its organisation “in Sydney [New South Wales, Australia] and Beijing [in mainland China], from a regional studio perspective to build games for this market”.

But the global reach of IGT – including strength in North America – can also benefit its Asia Pacific effort.

Mr Orchard noted: “We’re taking advantage of the approval processes that allow a lot of our global games to come into the market as well,” where market demand is indicated.

“We’re finally in a position where we’ll have the critical mass that we need: coming from both directions, North America and Asia Pacific.”

GGRAsia asked Mr Orchard about what impact the proposed US$2.6-billion tie between IGT’s global gaming and PlayDigital units with Everi Holdings Inc might have on IGT’s slot machine presence in Asia Pacific. The deal is expected to close “later this year or in early 2025,” according to the companies.

He said that as things stand: “We’re two completely independent organisations, running our own businesses. We can’t execute anything while we’re going through the process” of that proposed integration.

Regarding the relevant IGT segments and Everi’s business, “there are great synergies there,” Mr Orchard explained.

“Both companies – whatever we’re doing business[-wise] and wherever we’re doing business – between now and the transaction, will continue to support those products as independent businesses moving forward,” he stated.

Mr Jolly (pictured centre), vice president and managing director for Asia at casino equipment supplier Light & Wonder Inc, suggested that offering themed areas and rooms could contribute to a more immersive play experience. According to the executive, casino operators in Macau were already moving in that direction.

Creating a “more immersive” environment and ensuring that gaming rooms offer a “much better atmosphere” could be areas of development to attract younger demographics into casino gaming, Mr Jolly suggested.

“Imagine a room with digital walls, activity happening around the room, and lighting effects when you win a jackpot… that is probably where we are heading,” he added.

Mr Jolly suggested that the introduction of crash-style games into the casino environment could also appeal to young players, as they were already familiar with playing this type of game for fun.

“If you can get regulators to actually accept crash games, that might be something that could move the needle,” he observed.

Fellow panellist Lloyd Robson (second from left), general manager for Asia at slot machine maker Aristocrat Gaming, pointed to the importance of content in attracting young people to land-based casinos. He gave the example of sports-themed casino offerings in the United States as a successful example.

He also highlighted the importance of educating players about how slot machine play works, to make them more comfortable with this kind of activity. Mr Robson mentioned that previous research by casino operators in Macau indicated a lack of understanding by many mainland Chinese patrons of how slot machines actually worked.

“What we’ve been really doing is thinking about how we use technology to work with operators to educate players on how to play… and really allow [players] to learn in an environment that they’re comfortable with,” he explained. That, for instance, could include using technology to offer players recommendations to play other games around the floor, as well as directing them to different parts of the casino floor, he added.

Both Mr Jolly and Mr Robson admitted that skill-based games, once seen as a promising alternative to attract young players to slot play, had not achieved that goal. Both Light & Wonder and Aristocrat were currently not looking into this segment, they said.

The discussion panel also included representatives from two casinos in the Philippines: Cheryl Tiglao (first from right), director of slot at the Hann Casino Resort; and Jerry Chan (second from right), senior vice president of electronic gaming and special projects at Okada Manila.

Ms Tiglao said that themed rooms might not resonate with players in the Philippines in the same way they were already doing in Macau with Chinese players, due to cultural differences.

Mr Chan added that, in the Philippines, younger generations seem to be more attracted to playing table games. “They like to feel they can predict what is happening,” he said.

“For table games, it was launched already, but it’s more of a soft launch for now,” Ms Tiglao said during a panel session of the conference segment of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024 casino industry trade show in Macau.

“When it comes to slots, we’re still in the process. We’re targeting by late next quarter,” she added.

The soft launch of PIGO table operations at Hann casino occurred less than a month ago, Ms Tiglao told GGRAsia.

As for slots, the company is planning to make available a total of 100 units for PIGO play, she added.

PIGO was flagged as a licensing category during the Covid-19 period, allowing land-based casino operators in the Philippines to offer online gambling services to the domestic market during a period when pandemic-related restrictions prevented players in the country from visiting casinos. The PIGO regime has continued in the post-pandemic period.

As the PIGO acronym suggests, such licences are for online gambling services for the domestic market, in contrast to so-called ‘POGO’ licences – Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator permits – for services aimed at players overseas. The latter licences came under scrutiny in recent years and are now called Internet Gaming Licences (IGLs).

Unlike traditional online gambling that relies on server-based random number generators, PIGO games must be connected to physical gaming machines or tables specifically run by the PIGO licensee for that purpose: that is why PIGO is technically known as a form of ‘remote gambling’.

Hann Casino Resort, formerly known as the Widus Hotel and Casino, relaunched in December 2021 under the new branding. The property is owned and managed by Hann Philippines Inc.

He made the remarks during a Tuesday panel discussion on emerging markets at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024, a regional casino trade show and conference in Macau.

“One of the advantages Cambodia has over its neighbours is the low tax on GGR,” he indicated. “We have 4 percent on VIP… and the mass market is 7 percent, compared to Vietnam, which is about 35 percent, and Singapore, which is about 18 percent and 22 percent.”

This low taxation regime allows local gaming operators, particularly NagaCorp Ltd, which holds a casino monopoly in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and runs the NagaWorld complex, to attract players via various incentives and rebates.

“It gives them [the Cambodian operators] the margin to find a niche market in which players may not want to go to a different IR [integrated resort] and have fewer incentives or rebates,” Mr Li explained.

“Cambodia still has a market. It may not be able to appeal to big players, but we still have a smaller market, a smaller capital market in terms of gambling capital,” added the advisor.

Remote gambling in the Philippines

The panel also shed light on how remote online gambling has injected new momentum into land-based operations in the Philippines, exemplified by the case of Hotel Stotsenberg and Casino in Clark, located two hours north of the capital Manila.

“When we acquired Hotel Stotsenberg, which was one of the oldest luxury hotels in Clark … it was pretty much in shambles and not really doing well,” stated Evan Spytma (second from right), chief executive of Hotel Stotsenberg Leisure Park and Hotel Corp and Casino Plus.

But the implementation of the Philippine Inland Gaming Operators (PIGO) scheme by the country’s regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), during the Covid-19 pandemic, helped transform the market dynamics and the fortunes of Hotel Stotsenberg, observed Mr Spytma.

Under new regulation, licensed land-based casinos and IR operators are permitted to offer online gambling exclusively to registered members within the country. Moreover, the games offered must be connected to physical gaming machines or tables at brick-and-mortar casinos, which differentiates it from traditional online gaming that relies on server-based virtual games.

“That was a game changer,” Mr Spytma remarked, adding they have also invested to refurbish Hotel Stotsenberg. “Within a year’s time frame, we were able to go online and become a market leader.”

Addressing the differences between this type of offering and traditional online gaming, he added: “You can see the physical machine, you can compare the screens as you play, and you can… actually watch your play in real time, so you know it is secure and safe.”

He continued: “It’s a camera looking at a physical machine that players can log into remotely, deposit [funds], and play on that physical slot machine from any physical homes around the Philippines. They don’t have to travel to the casino.”

Player loyalty

Mr Spytma also underscored the “huge overlap” between land-based slot players and online slot players in the Philippines. “I would say pretty much all of our land-based [players] also play online,” he indicated.

“You can’t not look at that online market. It’s so lucrative and the masses are all there,” said the CEO.

“We find that a lot of our players come to the property, enjoy it, and then contribute to the game online with us. They’re very loyal players,” he illustrated.

Mr Spytma added: “We just set up events for them all around the Philippines. We don’t need them to come back to our physical IR for us to maintain them as our players.”

Angus Chan (second from left), an associate director of research at brokerage UBS AG, told the audience about the importance of Chinese players for regional gaming jurisdictions, despite the current sluggish macroeconomic conditions in the country.

“China has a lot of challenges, but some of them are cyclical,” he indicated. “At the high end, people seem to be fine… and we’re still seeing good demand.”

That was the warning message on Tuesday by three casino industry observers during a panel session of the conference segment of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024 casino industry trade show in Macau.

“I’m very sceptical at this stage that Thailand is going to have have the wherewithal to actually create an industry with scale,” said Vitaly Umansky (pictured, right), gaming analyst at Seaport Research Partners.

“Many [Asian] governments look at development of the casino industry and they look at Macau and Singapore, and their first attempt is to replicate one of those two industries,” noted Mr Umansky. “The difficulty of approaching legalisation and development in that fashion is that both Macau in Singapore are entirely unique geographic and political constructs that are very difficult to replicate in most other countries around Asia and the rest of the world.”

In late March, Thai lawmakers supported a study recommending casinos be permitted in large entertainment complexes proposed for that nation. Thailand’s Ministry of Finance is leading work to examine the feasibility of legalising casino resorts in the country.

Mr Umansky said that the legalisation of casinos in Thailand faced two main types of risk. The first was linked with the need for a sound regulatory framework, in order for the country to be able to attract international, reputable investors.

The second he said, was political risk, adding that was harder to address. Mr Umansky argued that Thailand did not offer currently a “stable” political environment, “where an operator can come and commit billions of [U.S.] dollars in investment.”

He forecast that Thailand’s casino market would likely end up looking “a little bit more like the Philippines, with numerous casinos that are of smaller scale, and is effectively a suboptimal market for what it potentially could be.”

Mr Umansky also criticised a potential requirement for minimum investments of US$3.0-billion-plus.

He recalled that in the initial years after Macau’s casino liberalisation, operators were authorised to build smaller-scale venues like the Sands Macao casino and the StarWorld casino-hotel, allowing them to test the market and start generating cash flows. Only after that did the multibillion U.S. dollar investment projects in Cotai take off.

Eventually by 2030 there could be in Thailand around two US$1-billion casino properties, Mr Umansky forecast.

Fellow panellist Paul Bromberg (pictured, centre left), senior vice president, investigations at gaming consultancy Spectrum Gaming Group, recalled studies mentioning the possibility of up to eight casinos being allowed in Thailand. “That would be a mistake, especially initially”, he said, admitting however the existence of pressure by several regional governments to be entitled each to a casino resort.

“That’s going to be an issue for the central government,” he said.

In Mr Bromberg’s opinion, it was unlikely that any multibillion U.S. dollar project in Thailand would be ready by 2030.

Daniel Cheng (pictured, centre right), an industry analyst and author, also joined the panel. He said there was currently “a meeting of minds” in Thailand, and a “consensus between the ruling and opposition political blocks, that [casino legalisation] is something that they collectively see will go ahead.”

He suggested that actual legislation in that direction “could happen as soon as early next year”.

Mr Cheng cautioned however that the success of casino legalisation was not a given in Thailand. He recalled the international excitement around the casino legalisation process in Japan, and how it eventually fell short of expectations, with only one licence attributed, out of three available.

That is according to Praveen Choudhary (pictured), managing director at Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd. He made the comments during a presentation on the first day of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2024 casino industry conference and trade show in Macau on Tuesday.

“My view is that if you are going to spend a dollar and you’re going to get two out of it, it’s your business, and a competitive world, so the reinvestment cost is your decision,” stated Mr Choudhary.

He added: “Now the issue is that if all six operators try to do the same thing, then eventually the customers benefit, but the margin for the entire sector goes down, and you don’t want that to happen.”

There is an ongoing investor discussion regarding increasing player reinvestment rates in Macau, as operators vie for patrons in the premium-mass segment, which has led the recovery in the city’s gaming market.

In early May, Craig Billings, group chief executive of Wynn Resorts Ltd, the parent of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd, said the company reinvestment in terms of players “can move 50, [or] 75 basis points in any given quarter, depending upon what we are trying to achieve”.

According to Mr Choudhary, as long as a company market share and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) goes up more than its revenue and costs, such spending is “absolutely justified”.

“You have to fight for your share. But is it smart for everybody else to copy that? Not really,” he observed.

According to the analyst, “it is tricky” to pinpoint the “right amount of reinvestment” because “everybody uses different calculations”.

But, he added, “anywhere between 15 percent to 20 percent” would be the right range, “with 20 percent being the maximum investment cost for premium mass players”.

“Between that range, it’s up to the companies to decide the kind of margin that they are comfortable with,” he stated.

Brokerage CLSA Ltd reduced its 2024 estimate for Macau-market casino operator EBITDA by 1.2 percent, to HKD68.63 billion (US$8.76 billion). That was due to the ongoing “competitive landscape” among the city’s six concessionaires, and was “1.8 percent… below consensus,” said the institution in an April memo.

She was speaking on Tuesday, the first day of the casino trade show and exhibition at the Venetian Macao casino resort.

A key offering on display was its standalone progressive product “Gong Gong Lai Fu”, on the Muso Curve-55HB cabinet (pictured). The game is due to be introduced to the Macau and Philippines markets “within this year,” said Ms Zhao.

Gong Gong Lai Fu has already been deployed in a major casino in another Asian market, and “is doing fantastically well,” said the company.

“We want to let everyone know that Aruze [the brand] is back in the market,” she stated. “We have lots of good titles and successful games, that our customers can see here.”

The company was also showing its Muso Triple-32HB cabinet. The latter is the “core product that we will be focusing on in Asia,” noted Ms Zhao.

The Aruze brand name has not been seen at a G2E Asia show since 2019, she noted. The interval also coincided with travel restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aruze Gaming Global already has circa 100 product licences in North America, as it had to be recognised as a new supplier after the exit from the industry of the legacy slot business of the old Aruze Gaming America Inc.

In February 2023 the latter filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States’ Bankruptcy Code.

United States-based Play Synergy, part of Empire Technological Group Ltd, acquired some Aruze Gaming America assets, principally its slot machine business.