May 18, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
Nasdaq-listed Macau VIP gaming room investor Iao Kun Group Holding Co Ltd says it has completed a deal allowing the firm to expand its casino junket operations to Crown Perth Casino and to Crown Melbourne Casino, in Australia.
Iao Kun on Friday announced in a press release that it had “completed the acquisition of all the profit interests” of a person called Lou Kan Kuong from his junket operations at Crown Perth in Perth, Western Australia and for the Crown Melbourne in Melbourne, Victoria. The two casino properties are run by Australia’s Crown Resorts Ltd, controlled by James Packer.
Iao Kun added it expected to begin generating revenues under these agreements beginning on May 16.
The press release identified Mr Lou as an officer of Iao Kun who recently entered into agreements to act as a junket operator at the casinos on behalf of Iao Kun. The firm had first announced the deal on April 20.
“Today marks an important step in beginning to diversify our sources of revenue and expanding our presence internationally,” said Iao Kun’s chairman Lam Man Pou in a statement.
He added: “We’re excited to begin bringing our VIP clients to Australia and remain committed to finding additional opportunities to further expand our presence overseas.”
Iao Kun is a mid-sized investor in Macau’s government-licensed VIP gaming promoters, also commonly known as ‘junket operators’. It benefits from the economic activity of five VIP rooms in several Macau casino resorts, including City of Dreams Macau. The latter property is owned and managed by casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. Crown Resorts is one of two controlling shareholders in Melco Crown, with a stake of 33.8 percent as of October last year.
For the first four months of 2015, Iao Kun’s rolling chip turnover was US$2.70 billion, an average of US$0.68 billion per month, down 58 percent year-over-year. Market wide in Macau, accumulated gross gaming revenue – a different measure of the industry’s performance – for the first four months of 2015 stood 37.1 percent lower than in the same period in 2014, according to official data.
The company on May 1 announced an executive reshuffle, including the appointment of a new chief executive, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.
Several recent announcements and news reports hint at a growing interest by Macau junket operators to expand their operations beyond the city, as the market environment there becomes tougher. Several investment analysts covering the gaming sector say VIP gamblers are staying away from Macau because they want to keep a low profile during the current corruption crackdown in mainland China. Some junket operators have already reduced their operations in Macau.
May 30, 2023
May 22, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking its market approach in the land-based segment, in terms of manufacturing and sales, says Naoki Kameda (pictured, left), the firm’s...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”[Macau casino] operators may want to remain prudent in not appearing to reward shareholders too early”
DS Kim
Head of Asia gaming and leisure research at JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific)