The year 2014 was marked by a drastic decrease in the gambling revenues in the biggest Asian gambling hub – Macau, and while market analysts kept announcing that the situation is getting worse and all Asian countries that rely, to a certain extent, on the gambling sector in order to keep their economy thriving, are affected by the crisis.
However, the latest reports proved that in spite of the pessimistic situation in Macau and the slim chances for improvement, the gambling sector in the Philippines managed to resist the issues and remain competitive.
According to Andrew Tan, the CEO of Alliance Global Group Inc., the significant downfall in revenues in Macau is due to the fact that the venues located there count predominantly on generating revenues via attracting high-roller players. However, the gambling sector in the Philippines does not relies on visits of high-roller players at all.
Tan went on to say that the high-roller gambling segment is not as thriving as it used to be and as a result, the gambling revenues in Macau are getting smaller. At the same time, the Philippines’ gambling activities remain competitive because of the fact that gambling goes hand in hand with the well-developed tourism sector.
What is more, the latest predictions for 2015 show that revenues generated via gambling are to play a critical role in the economy of the Philippines.
Five years ago, the first integrated resort, located in the vicinity of the capital Manilla, opened doors for visitors and it would not be excessive to say that it can take pride in being an attractive gambling hub that is constantly evolving.
A super luxurious resort of a new generation is about to be built as well. The completion of the Bayshore City Resorts World is believed to take place towards the end of 2018 and the expenses for the project are estimated to cost the investors more than $1 billion.
The City of Dreams Manilla, which has opened doors for visitors relatively recently, is supposed to make the region even more appealing to tourists who are interested in trying their luck on the casino floor.
As for Macau, the gambling segment was marked by the most drastic decrease YOY. People familiar with the matter pointed out to the President’s anti-corruption campaign as well as the smoking ban and said that these are among the main reasons for the current issues.
Nevertheless, market analysts predict an increase but the tendency for unsatisfactory revenues is believed to continue at least until the first quarter of 2015.
