LAST WORD 66
Disrupting the regulators Sharon Singleton
Managing Editor, AGB
Technology has been disrupting conventional business models for years now, from the way we bank to the way we book our holidays and travel around town. However, in the land-based gaming sector there have been few truly revolutionary products to shake up the status quo.
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From the casino’s point of view it’s understandable not asinos in Asia are still heavily table focused, with baccarat by far the firm favourite on the to rush headlong into the next best and as yet unproven floors in Macau and indeed most properties thing. Floor space is precious and experimentation is a gamble in and of itself. Even if something quickly fires around the region.. There has been plenty of talk of how to attract the the imagination of clients, it needs to have a shelf life millennial audience and hook them into the casino to merit the sizeable investment. Some casinos in Asia are willing to push the envelope, experience, often through the potential introduction of digital technologies, creating convergence between particularly in the Philippines where clients are often keen to try something new. Also in Cambodia, where the land-based and online sectors. However, despite the best efforts of the suppliers there is a distinct blurring of lines between land-based and their R&D departments, change is slow. At the and online offerings. However, behind all of this are the slow turning recent ICE Totally Gaming Show in London, several companies were showcasing interesting new concepts wheels of regulation. Macau in particular is known to be risk averse with new products facing a true uphill that could have a major impact on the floor. battle to gain approval. While Takara Gaming Group is it is worthy for regulators to one example. It has a GLI-11 ensure the quality and security certified operating system, of the products being offered to which enables a video game’s IP Even if punters, there perhaps needs to to run on any regulated gaming something quickly be a way of speeding the process floor. This effectively turns to ensure casinos in Asia are the slot machine into a giant fires the imagination able to offer the most cutting customizable i-Pad, providing of clients, it needs edge products available to their casinos with the flexibility clients should they so desire. to provide the latest content to have a shelf life Then there’s bitcoin, the without the huge additional to merit the sizeable disruptor in chief. From an early infrastructure investment embrace of crypto-currencies, traditionally associated with investment. regulators around Asia are having introducing new gaming second thoughts, spooked by the machines. frenzy of speculation. At ICE it showcased the China has banned bitcoin trading outright, while Chinese Shooting game “Fish Hunter” in a chancebased casino-graded gaming machine. Fish Hunter Australian gambling regulator, the Northern Territory is a real-time fish shooting simulation game that has Racing Commission, has imposed a ban on online captured the video skill game market in China since cryptocurrency wagering. South Korea seems to have dialled back from a threat to also impose a ban, but its debut in 2009. TGG’s has introduced its products on the floors in is thought to be looking at introducing a licensing Cambodia, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea, system, while noises by India also suggesting it might though is still waiting on the green light from Macau. crackdown hit prices hard. Banning cryptocurrencies and foot dragging on other Play n’ Go was another one, showcasing its new omni-channel platform OMNY. The product is designed cutting edge technologies will ultimately prove to be like to allow players to transfer their game progress across holding back the tide. Regulators rather than enforcing any land-based or digital device through a standard a knee-jerk ban need to be as equally disruptive in their user profile, blurring the lines between the casino floor thinking to ensure they offer consumer protections without cutting off access to potentially game-changing products. and online worlds.
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Asia Gaming Briefings | March 2018
