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Creating opportunity from crisis The Covid-19 pandemic is certainly the biggest crisis that most of us have faced in our lifetimes and without a doubt will change the way we live and work. With the number of infections and deaths mounting by the day, economies crippled and personal freedoms removed on an unprecedented level, it’s hard not to be gripped by a sense of panic!!
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owever, there will be light at the end of the tunnel and our focus section in this edition of Asia Gaming Briefings tries to offer a path towards recovery. In our first article, we report on comments made
Asia Gaming Briefings | May 2020
by Canadian entrepreneur Earle Hall in the inaugural session of our webinar series in April. Hall, who is CEO of Axes Network, points out that periods of great creativity and opportunity have historically followed great upheaval. Although much of the world’s population is undergoing enforced isolation, this is not something that will leave a long-term imprint as human beings are social animals and crave contact, he argues. Ultimately this bodes well for land-based casinos, although in the short term, it’s likely to be the local properties that will benefit rather than those reliant on tourism and travel. In our second article, gaming lawyer David Green tackles some of the regulatory changes that we may see emerging in the industry. Online gaming companies, both social gaming and for cash, are seeing a surge in activity that’s going to be hard to reverse even when travel returns to some degree of normality. Authorities may need to take another look at potential regulation to ensure fairness and transparency. Green also points out that the crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of land-based casinos, which will need to be factored into future feasibility studies. It may even have an impact on how much the Macau government can demand of the concessionaires during the license renewal process, given this business risk. Staying in Macau, the operators have all stepped up to the plate to help out the local community, donating millions of patacas in aid, as well as medical and other supplies to help the needy. We take a look at their efforts, which have all been undertaken at a time when they are generating close to zero revenue due to the closure of the borders. How are they allocating funds, to which sectors of society and have they done enough to help? Lastly, casinos across Asia will eventually open their doors again, though the outlook will remain far from certain. Companies will need to optimise their operations to keep costs to the minimum while the revenue picture improves. We speak to experts about what tools can be adopted to help managers ramp up their various properties.
