Asia will be the worlds fastest growing casino market | IXGAMES

Inspired by Macau’s emergence as the Las Vegas of the Far East, Asian countries from South Korea to Singapore are opening casinos or weighing whether to roll the dice on legalized gambling. Asia is without a doubt the most promising market for the expansion of the global casino gaming industry,” says Jonathan Galaviz, a partner in Las Vegas-based casino consulting firm Globalysis. Consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that revenue from casinos and other regulated gambling activities in Asia will grow 14% a year from 2005 to 2010 — the fastest pace in the world.

Now Asian gambling is going legit. And the trend goes beyond Macau, the autonomous Chinese region that last year overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s No. 1 gaming market: Strait-laced Singapore, where the government regulates everything from chewing gum to bedroom behavior, this month broke ground on the 121-acre, $3.1 billion Resorts World at Sentosa casino complex. It will open in 2010. Another casino, the $3.2 billion Marina Bay Sands, will open in 2009.

Singapore which dropped its gambling ban in 2005, sees casinos as an important part of a broader effort to promote itself as a getaway for tourists. The city-state is aiming to increase the number of annual visitors from 9.7 million last year to 17 million by 2015.

South Korea last year opened three casinos, bringing its total to 17. “South Korea plans to continue expanding into the casino market in order to compete with Macau and lure upper-tier Japanese customers.

Taiwan confirmed last month that it’s considering allowing casinos — though PricewaterhouseCoopers last year predicted that gambling would be limited to a $600 million casino on Taiwan’s Penghu Island and forbidden elsewhere.

Japan ruling party is considering legislation to legalize casino gambling. “The Japanese public is becoming more tolerant of gaming and realizes the benefits of – casino - legalization, such as  increasing tourism market.

PricewaterhouseCoopers expects gambling revenue in the Philippines to pass $1 billion in 2010 (up from $387 million in 2005) because the government is planning a big casino complex in Manila Bay.

Driving the regional interest in gaming: Asia’s rise from poverty to affluence. An Asian Development Bank advisory group predicts 90% of Asians will live in “middle-income” countries by 2020. That shift has created millions of consumers with cash to spend on gambling entertainment.