Maybank stated in a memo on Wednesday that “brick-and-mortar casinos face steep headwinds due to inflation, high utility costs cannibalising disposable income, and a lack of VIP high-rollers tied to slower-than-expected tourism growth.”

The Philippines reported in April that first-quarter foreign visitor arrivals were up 2.6 percent year-on-year, to circa 1.76 million, spurred by growth in most key markets except South Korea and China.

In its ‘Daily Edge’ digest of its analyst output for the Philippines’ business sectors, Maybank referred to comments at the start of June by Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of the country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

He had said the Philippine gambling sector could see gross gaming revenue (GGR) decline by as much as 19 percent this year. It could be as low as PHP320 billion (US$5.20 billion) this year, versus the PHP396.14- billion recorded in 2025.

Maybank noted that notwithstanding land-based gaming’s challenges, “online gaming serves as the industry’s primary bright spot,” with operators such as Philippines-listed DigiPlus Interactive Corp “expected to outperform by leveraging promotional activities and expanding into lower-income segments”.

In a Tuesday filing, it said reasons for the decline included an “employee benefits increase of HK$13.5 million to attract talent which enhanced our competitiveness in the employment market”.

That included staff for its Palasino Mikulov property (pictured), near the border with Austria, which launched toward the end of the reporting period.

The firm added that “despite reduction in online gaming expenses by HKD7.8 million, our investment in promoting our brand awareness in our target markets continued to attract travellers’ visitation to our casinos”.

The group says it has an integrated resort in the Czech Republic comprising a hotel and casino, alongside three “full-service land-based casinos” in that nation. It also has hotels in Germany and Austria.

Palasino stated that “in conjunction with the marketing effort for the Palasino Mikulov launch,” marketing costs increased by HKD6.3 million during financial-year 2026. It added it allocated HKD33.6 million in capital expenditure in the reporting period on the launch of the new property.

The company announced in a separate Tuesday filing a final dividend on its ordinary shares amounting to HKD0.029 per share, payable on September 18. The main results filing said the dividend amounted to HKD23.4 million.

The financial-year 2026 result was on revenue of HKD611.1 million, up 7.6 percent year-on-year.

The firm said the gain “was mainly attributable to increases in table gaming revenue of 20.2 percent with higher hold rate and revenue from the slot machines operation of 6.9 percent.”

Palasino also stated that gaming revenue net of gaming tax for the latest reporting period was 9.9 percent higher than in financial-year 2025, which it said “demonstrated momentum continued to be strong on gaming”.

Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were HKD60.7 million, a gain of 15.6 percent year-on-year.

The company had said in a late December 2025 announcement that Palasino Mikulov, the company’s fourth gaming property, had opened, with a “soft launch” on December 18.

In its results filing, Palasino said “the grand opening of Palasino Mikulov was successfully held on March 21, 2026, symbolically marking the official conclusion of the soft-opening period commencing on December 18, 2025”.

The launch of Palasino Mikulov “represented a significant milestone in the group’s long-term development and further strengthens its presence and competitive positioning in the Czech Republic’s land-based casino market.”

The firm said that group-wide gaming revenue for financial-year 2026 accounted for approximately 73.3 percent of total revenue, slightly up from financial-year 2025’s 72.0 percent.

Financial-year 2026 non-gaming revenue – including hotel, food and drink, conference business, and “ancillary services” – represented approximately 26.7 percent of total revenue, versus 28.0 percent in financial-year 2025.

Palasino stated: “The expansion of the group’s gaming portfolio underscored the group’s strategic focus on allocating business resources toward gaming as its primary revenue driver.”

The group said it had cash and liquid investments of approximately HKD271.6 million as of March 31, down 8.8 percent year-on-year, mainly due to total capital expenditure of HKD44.8 million during the latest reporting period.

The company was listed in Hong Kong in first-half of calendar-year 2024 as a spin-off from Hong Kong-listed property developer Far East Consortium International Ltd. The latter is also an investor in a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, real estate development that houses The Star Brisbane casino resort.

That amount was 38-percent lower versus June 2025, while the number of premium mass players observed amounted to 448, i.e., 29-percent fewer year-on-year.

“We attribute the year-on-year weakness to the ongoing [FIFA] World Cup [2026],” being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, observed the analysts. The tournament started on June 11, with the final to be held on July 19, U.S. time.

The championship “might have diverted away some of the gaming focus of some players,” they wrote. The analysts added that June this time was a “tough” comparison versus June 2025.

That was, said Citi, due to Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd having hosted at its Galaxy Arena at Galaxy Macau, coinciding with the period of the June 2025 survey, a first performance of a concert series by Hong Kong pop artist Jacky Cheung Hok-yau.

Citi stated: “One interesting note is that the HKD9.8-million total wager observed this month is at a similarly low level versus the HK$10.0 million that we observed in June 2024, the month when the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament took place.” That was a reference to another international football tournament.

Citi said that on the day of its June survey this time, it saw 287 premium mass tables with active players out of 739 tables open for public use.

The analysts stated: “The last time we saw that few tables being occupied by premium mass players was December 2024, the month of Macau’s 25th anniversary” for its handover from Portuguese administration to that of China.

That particular anniversary saw a visit to Macau from China’s leader, President Xi Jinping. A number of industry commentators has previously noted that visits to Macau by senior Chinese leaders can coincide with lower gambling volumes occurring among Chinese players belonging to the top-tier segments.

Citi noted: “We did see fewer whales this month, but the encouraging fact that we witnessed our ‘Player of the Month’ wagering HKD680,000 suggests that casino players are still able to get cash to Macau and are still very much willing to spend there.”

The term ‘whales’ is industry jargon for high-value players.

It was recently widely reported that China was cracking down on offshore trading platforms accused of helping investors bypass Beijing’s capital-export controls. Brokerage CLSA said in a note earlier this month that such a move might weigh more on casino-investor sentiment rather than on actual Macau gross gaming revenue.

Citi added in its latest wager-survey note: “The final whistle of the [World Cup] soccer tournament will blow on July 19, and we remain confident that a swift post-tournament recovery will happen.”

The institution said it observed 24 whales on the day of its June survey, down 31.4 percent on the 35 seen in June 2025. As well as the HKD680,000-player at Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd’s City of Dreams property in Cotai, “honourable mentions” went to a HKD380,000 whale at Galaxy Macau’s Pavilion North and an observed HKD220,000 whale at City of Dreams’ Signature Club.

“We noticed a few of these whales had millions of dollars of cash chips at tables,” added the Citi analysts.

They stated that the “Player of the Month” spotted by the instution helped Melco Resorts “gain share in terms of total wager observed to 21 percent, making it the most-improved operator.”

The institution said Galaxy Entertainment held its “number one rank” for observed premium mass wager, with a 25-percent share, while Wynn Macau Ltd’s observed share “fell sharply to 13 percent”. The latter runs Wynn Macau downtown and Wynn Palace in the Cotai casino district.

The figures were disclosed on Thursday by the Office of the Secretary for Security.

During the first quarter this year, the authorities recorded 162 gaming-related fraud cases, representing about 27.7 percent of all gaming-related crimes logged during the period. The tally of fraud cases increased by 6.6 percent year-on-year.

The second-largest category of gaming-related crime – unlicensed money exchange for gambling purposes – totalled 119 cases in the first quarter, down 9.8 percent from a year earlier.

There was no official explanation for the changes in gaming-related crime trends in the latest quarterly disclosure.

The first-quarter data showed year-on-year increases in several other categories of gaming-related crime, including assault, threats, misappropriation and theft, although the number of such cases remained significantly lower than fraud or illegal money-exchange offences.

During the same period, cases involving illegal lending for gambling purposes totalled 45, representing an 11.8 percent year-on-year decline. This category has previously been classified by Macau’s security authorities as a “serious” crime affecting public security.

The court on Wednesday imposed a fine of AUD700,000 (US$491,685) on Star Entertainment’s former chief executive and managing director Matthias Bekier, and AUD400,000 on former chief legal and risk officer Paula Martin. Mr Bekier was disqualified from managing corporations for six years, while Ms Martin received a seven-year ban.

The penalties follow a March ruling that found both executives had breached their duties under Australia’s Corporations Act by failing adequately to address anti-money laundering (AML) and criminal activity risks associated with Suncity, once identified as the casino group’s largest junket partner.

The country’s corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), brought the case against the executives in 2022. At the time, it involved 11 past and present directors and executives of Star Entertainment.

Court documents cited by ABC News showed Star Entertainment’s turnover from Suncity was approximately AUD2.1 billion, AUD4 billion and AUD5.9 billion for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial years, respectively.

ASIC alleged that Mr Bekier and Ms Martin failed to respond appropriately to warning signs regarding money laundering risks and reports of criminal links involving Suncity and its funding arrangements.

The regulator also alleged Ms Martin permitted misleading information to be provided to National Australia Bank regarding the use of China UnionPay cards at ATMs located within Star Entertainment’s properties. 

The statements were said to have concealed the fact that the cards were being used for gambling-related transactions, which was said to be contrary to UnionPay rules.

In his judgment, Justice Michael Lee said the sanctions were intended to protect the public interest and deter similar conduct by senior executives at listed companies.

“There is no tariff for governance failures within large publicly listed corporations, still less for failures occurring within enterprises carrying the unusual privileges and risks associated with casino operations,” he stated, as quoted by ABC News.

Justice Lee also said neither executive had demonstrated sufficient insight into the seriousness of their misconduct.

Management breaches

The court had previously found that Mr Bekier failed to address adequately findings in a report by financial consultancy KPMG that identified deficiencies in the casino firm’s AML controls and criminal-risk management processes. He was also found not to have managed appropriately the risks arising from Star Entertainment’s relationship with Suncity.

Ms Martin’s breaches included failing to advise the company’s board adequately about risks associated with the junket operator.

Suncity’s founder and former chief executive, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, was arrested in Macau in late 2021 as part of a crackdown on cross-border gambling and money laundering activities linked to Macau’s junket sector. In 2023, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Mr Bekier resigned from Star Entertainment in 2022 amid investigations into possible breaches of AML and counter-terrorism financing laws at the company’s casinos. Ms Martin also left the group that year.

Star Entertainment’s operations in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland were placed under state-government supervision in 2022, following reviews that found the company unsuitable to hold casino licences in those states.

Shareholders of Star Entertainment approved in June last year a AUD300.0-million rescue package, led by United States-based gaming operator Bally’s Corp, which is now the Australian firm’s largest shareholder.

In April this year, Star Entertainment said it had completed the disposal of its 50 percent equity interest in the Destination Brisbane Consortium, the owner of the site in Brisbane, Australia, where The Star Brisbane casino is located.

“A slowdown in growth is inevitable through next year, but in the short term, attention should be paid to dividends rather than growth,” wrote analyst Lee Hye-in in a Tuesday memo, cited by South Korea-based The Asia Business Daily outlet.

Ms Lee said growth was expected to remain constrained through 2027 due to a combination of limited capacity resulting from the casino’s expansion works, ongoing renovation at resort facilities, and higher investment costs linked to the development of a second casino at Kangwon Land.

The casino resort is located in the country’s east-highlands region, approximately 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the capital Seoul.

Revamp work of the VIP gaming floor at the property started in March, and is expected to extend for at least 12 months. The firm is also moving forward with a two-year hotel- and condominium-room renovation involving 757 units at the complex.

In Tuesday’s note, the Samsung Securities analyst forecast sluggish revenue growth and lower profitability in 2026 and 2027, but suggested a stronger growth phase could emerge afterwards.

According to Ms Lee, the opening of the second casino, an increase in gaming-machine capacity and the completion of hotel room renovations could support simultaneous improvements in revenue and earnings from 2028 onwards.

The analyst estimated Kangwon Land Inc could generate revenue of KRW1.72 trillion (US$1.14 billion) in 2028, with operating profit reaching KRW310.5 billion.

Despite the near-term earnings pressure, Ms Lee highlighted Kangwon Land Inc’s shareholder-return policy as a potential attraction for investors.

Kangwon Land Inc currently maintains a shareholder-return ratio of about 60 percent, said Samsung Securities, adding that the casino firm could potentially keep its dividend payout ratio above 50 percent even during periods when profits are under pressure.

Kangwon Land Inc reported a 46.8-percent year-on-year decline in its first-quarter net profit, to KRW39.67 billion, on aggregate sales that grew 3.4 percent year-on-year, to KRW378.92 billion.

The decline was driven by weaker arrivals from several of Singapore’s key source markets, including mainland China, Indonesia, India and Australia, the data showed.

Overnight visitors accounted for 909,590 arrivals in May, down 11.8-percent year-on-year. Average length of stay across all international markets was 3.58 days, flat from a year earlier.

The top five source markets in May were mainland China (204,640 arrivals), Indonesia (170,130), India (144,010), Malaysia (111,910) and Australia (83,510).

Of those markets, Malaysia’s tally was flat from a year ago. But arrivals from mainland China saw a 15.4-percent year-on-year decline, while those from Indonesia – the second-largest source market after mainland China – shrank by 14.0 percent.

Visitor arrivals from India and Australia each recorded single-digit percentage declines compared with May 2025.

Among the five largest source markets, only India recorded an average stay length above the overall international average of 3.58 days. Indian visitors stayed an average of 6.31 days in Singapore during May.

For the first five months of 2026, Singapore welcomed 7.00 million international visitors, down 1.2 percent year-on-year decline, according to STB data. Of that total, around 73 percent – or 5.10 million – were overnight visitors, a cohort that recorded a 2.2-percent year-on-year decline.

The January to May visitor tally represents circa 40 percent of the tourism authority’s forecast for full-year 2026, which stands at between 17 million to 18 million. The tourism authority’s forecast implies annual growth of between 0.6 percent and 6.5 percent versus 2025.

The Macau company has close to two decades of experience in supplying casino games and systems in Asia. Now it is linking – as in investor – with Aimo Robotics, a Hong Kong-based company specialising in AI-powered robots. The latter’s products can have a physical presence either indoors or outdoors, mainly for security and surveillance tasks.

Aimo Robotics already has products deployed for businesses outside the gaming sector, Ms Tang said. She was speaking to GGRAsia at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia trade and conference in Macau.

For integrated resort (IR) operators, the duo have developed “some applications and software for analysing the data” captured by patrolling robots; “detection alerts”; and facial recognition.

Ms Tang stated: “While patrolling in a mall or other open areas, it [the robot] can also do marketing work” via advertisements or other material shown on its display screen.

Some robots can perform “concierge” tasks, such as replying to verbal queries by resort visitors, said Winning Asia’s CEO.

“In the future, hopefully we can – based on our AI-powered back-end system – help the IR clients to do analysis of data” captured by the robots, “for use beyond security and surveillance – anything at all,” said Ms Tang.

Winning Asia has also been promoting a core segment – gaming products and slot management systems under the “AGT” brand. The firm also distributes casino games from other manufacturers. That portfolio currently includes LT Game Ltd, Gambee d.o.o., Euro Games Technology Ltd, and Jackpot Digital Inc.

At this year’s G2E Asia, Winning Asia debuted its new-generation multiplayer fishing game “AGT FishKing 8”. The product can provide eight player stations simultaneously, and is presented consumer-wise as a “hybrid of amusement and gaming”, stated Ms Tang.

AGT FishKing 8’s players can use virtual cannon to ‘hunt’ their targeted fish. For venue operators, the game has adjustable return-to-player (RTP) settings and multiple bet levels, according to corporate materials.

“The fishing game is favoured by several markets within Asia: because it is… easy to understand,” said Ms Tang.

She added that for “tourists” that are “not gamblers per se”, the game is easy to play. “It has eye-catching sounds, animation and graphics, and we already have received some queries for it,” stated the CEO.

Ms Tang noted: “Baccarat or slot games are very much popular among those in their 40s and 50s: but the industry wants to cover a wider age bracket to be their casino-goers,” in future.

As a result, Winning Asia is exploring for its games offer “innovative elements… that could capture the younger generation-segment,” Ms Tang remarked.

The Commercial Gambling Management Commission (CGMC) of Cambodia  cancelled the casino licence held by Radiant Pearl Investment Ltd, operator of the Roxy Hotel & Casino, local newspaper The Phnom Penh Post reported.

According to the outlet, the licence revocation followed an inspection conducted on May 21 by provincial and municipal authorities together with the Comission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS).

The operation resulted in the detention of 25 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in criminal activities. Authorities also seized mobile phones, computers, vehicles and digital video recorder equipment used for surveillance systems.

Investigators subsequently examined the electronic devices and concluded that the casino had been involved in online fraud activities, the report stated.

The CGMC has also requested assistance from the Cambodia Financial Intelligence Unit to obtain information on bank accounts linked to the company’s owners, and individuals previously registered as licence holders. The information is to be forwarded to prosecutors at the Svay Rieng Provincial Court for further legal proceedings, per the report.

The latest action comes amid a broader regulatory crackdown by Cambodian authorities on casinos allegedly linked to online fraud and cybercrime.

Earlier this year, the CGMC revoked or suspended a number of casino licences as part of enforcement measures targeting venues suspected of facilitating online scam operations.

According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, more than 250 online scam centres have been raided nationwide over the past nine months, with 91 casinos shut down for alleged involvement in such activities.

The latest revocation also comes amid broader concerns raised by human rights groups about links between some licensed casino operations and scam compounds. An April report by Amnesty International alleged that multiple casino complexes in Cambodia had connections to facilities where trafficking, forced labour and other abuses had occurred.

In a statement, the head of Cambodia’s CCOS defended the country’s efforts against online scam centres, stating that “the core operating systems, command technologies and… financial chains” were “outside Cambodia’s jurisdiction”.

A final draft of a paper called ‘The basic stance on IR of Hokkaido prefecture’ is due to be presented to the prefectural assembly in September, with Hokkaido’s basic position on the matter, due to be finalised in October, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.

The next IR application window of the national government – open to prefectures and so-called ordinance-level cities – is between May 6, 2027 and November 5, 2027.

‘The basic stance on IR of Hokkaido prefecture’ is to be the foundation for the governor, Naomichi Suzuki, to decide on whether to go ahead with the casino resort initiative, and ultimately to make and submit its ‘IR District Development Plan’ as required by the national government. That is according to GGRAsia’s correspondent.

If Mr Suzuki decides to go ahead, ‘The basic stance’ paper should also be the starting point for an implementation policy on the matter.

Per Tuesday’s prefectural assembly meeting, the current draft of ‘The basic stance’ paper mentions: “The IR business entity should be a special purpose company (SPC) with Hokkaido companies being part of it.”

The paper added: “The purpose of establishing the IR is to capture new tourism demand from affluent individuals and inbound tourists and to maximise the economic effect throughout Hokkaido prefecture.”

It also clarified: “The location municipality will be required to make administrative investments, such as securing land and developing infrastructure.”

Separately on Tuesday, it emerged that Hakodate – a Hokkaido city that had been mentioned as a possible IR site as an alternative to the frontrunner port city of Tomakomai (pictured) – has not yet achieved community consensus on whether to put itself forward.

As a result, Hakodate city council appeared to rule itself out of contention.

During a Tuesday question-and-answer session at a Hakodate city council plenary meeting, the authority said in a statement: “An IR in the city should have a positive economic effect. However, at this moment, the city has not yet established any consensus among the civil population to try having it. The city has not secured land for it.”

“In conclusion, it is almost impossible to work on it for the next application window,” it added.

Japan’s only approved casino project is the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.42-billion currently) MGM Osaka. It involves Osaka city and prefecture, and their commercial partners MGM Resorts International, Japan’s Orix Corp, and other local companies, and is due to be completed by the end of 2030.