Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

Post by Arget »

What visas would they get and what quarantine conditions are in place?
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

Post by armchairlawyer »

This could be important.
I was listening yesterday to a gaming analyst talking about Macau. The industry is suffering there, still down 90% year on year. They have opened it up to some mainlanders but that hasn't helped. Meanwhile some other destinations have been hot, eg Cambodia. So a certain government has started talking about a blacklist of countries that will be forbidden to their citizens who are travelling to gamble.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-08-28/C ... index.html
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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From the Nikkei Asia Review, source - https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Travel ... and-rivals

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE/HANOI -- China's new restrictions against cross-border casino trips threaten to deal a blow to Asian economies that depend on Chinese tourist spending, but will give a leg-up to the reopened gambling hub of Macao.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Aug. 26 it will create a blacklist of overseas gambling destinations. The announcement did not specify the banned locations, but it did mention cities that are "disrupting China's outbound travel market and endangering Chinese citizens' lives and property."
The move was unwelcome news to Southeast Asian destinations as they struggle to attract visitors while fighting coronavirus outbreaks.
"The timing of this policy that decreases Chinese tourists is a negative," one insider in Vietnam's tourism industry said.
Although Vietnam has sharply limited the intake of foreign travelers since March in response to the pandemic, officials have been looking to restart international flights as the outbreak shows signs of being contained.
Last year, Vietnam welcomed about 6 million Chinese visitors, official statistics show, ranking China as the top origin of incoming tourists. One decision by Beijing can decide the fate of more than 40 casino resorts in Vietnam.
China's travel ban appears to be based on concerns that foreign casinos are turning into hotbeds of corruption and other crimes among.
Macao, the gambling capital of the world and the only legal casino city in China, is known for junkets, which provide wealthy clients with everything from transportation to loans for betting.
Vast amounts of money changed hands in these operations. But the anti-corruption campaign under Chinese President Xi Jinping disrupted the junket industry, prompting some operators to shift to Southeast Asia.
The relocated junkets have wooed China's affluent to casino resorts abroad. These operations are especially numerous in Vietnam and Cambodia -- places that are generally out of reach of Chinese authorities.
The same Chinese officials appear to have decided that farther-reaching measures were needed to pursue Xi's anti-corruption campaign.
Any Asian country that depends on Chinese tourists will be hit hard if it appears on the casino blacklist. The Philippine capital of Manila is home to four large casino resorts, along with smaller parlors, all of which are heavily frequented by Chinese visitors.
Last year, Chinese accounted for over 20% of foreign tourists in the Philippines. The country's casino market grew 15% on the year in 2018 to 216.3 billion pesos ($4.45 billion).
Singapore is in the same position, since visitors from China account for the largest percentage of tourists. The Singaporean government continues to bar the entry of travelers from major countries, potentially prolonging the pain for casinos.
The Marina Bay Sands reported revenue of only $7 million in the second quarter, a 99% plunge from a year earlier. A Chinese travel ban would deepen the wound.
Ever since the blacklist was reported, stocks exposed to the measure have taken a dive in Hong Kong trading. Suncity Group, which is developing a casino resort in Vietnam, gave up as much as 10% of its stock value. Nagacorp, which operates a resort in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, fell as much as 14%.
Adding to the uncertainty is the fear that China could wield the blacklist as a political weapon against trading partners. China once imposed de facto restrictions on travel to South Korea in response to the country's adoption of the U.S.-made THAAD missile defense system, as well as to Japan amid an island dispute.
In Macao, however, the blacklist is seen by many to be a net positive. People from neighboring Guangdong Province in China have been allowed to enter the territory since late August. Macao's casino industry anticipates the gradual lifting of restrictions will lead to a recovery in demand.
Macao instituted an entry ban against foreigners in March and largely limited visitors from the mainland. As a result, the number of incoming travelers since April fell to less than 1% of the year-earlier tally. Gaming revenue dropped 82% on the year in the January-August period.
With the news that the entry ban would be eased, there has been a rush of applications in Guangdong for documents needed for travel to Macao. As part of a plan to bring in clientele, the Macao government is distributing 290 million patacas ($36.3 million) worth of product vouchers, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The easing of border restrictions will be huge for Macao, since mainlanders make up 70% of the visitors. U.S. investment bank Jefferies expects gambling revenue will start to recover this month, then cross the break-even point for profitability during China's long National Day holiday in October.
Shares in Galaxy Entertainment Group, Sands China and other Macao casino operators have climbed over 10% from the end of June. Research by Morgan Stanley analysts shows that wealthy Chinese VIPs have driven the gambling markets in the Philippines and Cambodia. If such demand is redirected toward Macao, revenue from VIPs could jump by as much as 30%, according to the report.

Note - the share price of Nagaworld did dip as stated on Aug 26, but it quickly recovered, so the market perceives no threat to the company presumably.
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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armchairlawyer wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 2:15 pm China's new restrictions against cross-border casino trips threaten to deal a blow to Asian economies that depend on Chinese tourist spending, but will give a leg-up to the reopened gambling hub of Macao. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Aug. 26 it will create a blacklist of overseas gambling destinations. The announcement did not specify the banned locations, but it did mention cities that are "disrupting China's outbound travel market and endangering Chinese citizens' lives and property."

China's travel ban appears to be based on concerns that foreign casinos are turning into hotbeds of corruption and other crimes....
I'll shed a few crocodile tears over that. I see nothing good out of these casinos other than tax revenue for governments at the expense of addicted gamblers and crime.

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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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Cambodia tipped to lead the pack in regional casino recovery: report
Thursday, February 25, 2021 - 10:53
Annabeth Leow
2 -min read
CASINOS in Cambodia could regain three-fifths of the sector's pre-pandemic revenue this year, led by the VIP segment, a recent report has suggested.

Real estate consultancy Colliers International expects Macau and Cambodia to lead the recovery in Asia-Pacific land-based gaming, trailed by Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Premium mass gaming could lift gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau to 50 per cent to 60 per cent of what it was in 2019.

Cambodia GGR is tipped to hit 60 per cent of the pre-Covid-19 base, while Singapore could achieve 45 per cent of earlier levels.

The bulk of the recovery is expected to come from Q3 2021 onwards.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/asean- ... ery-report
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Thailand unlikely to legalize casino gambling, prospects bright for Cambodia’s border casinos: Donaco
by Ben Blaschke
Monday 8 March 2021 at 05:13

The CEO of Australian-listed Donaco International Ltd says he does not expect authorities in Thailand to legalize gambling, expressing confidence that the company will stage a strong recovery over the coming year as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic start to ease.

Lee Bug Huy, who was appointed CEO last year following a boardroom makeover, and Donaco’s CFO Gordon Lo were responding to questions from investors on Friday following release of the company’s 1H21 (July to December) results a week earlier.

The potential for Thailand to open its own casinos was raised by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in January, who stated he would consider the measure in a bid to curb a growing number of illegal gambling dens.

But Lee said Friday that such a dramatic policy shift seems unlikely.

“At this stage we do not expect the Thai government to legalize gambling in the country,” he said.

Instead, Lee outlined his confidence in the long-term prospects for Donaco’s Star Vegas casino, located in Poipet on the Thai border – despite having seen visitation impacted once again by a new wave of COVID-19 currently spreading across Cambodia.

“We anticipate this will be a temporary short-term impact, outweighed by a positive long-term outlook for the business as vaccinations commence in Southeast Asia in the second half of the year,” he said.

“We have executed an effective strategy during the [first half of the 2021 financial year] which has led to a return to positive EBITDA. We did everything we could during the first half to fix what had to be fixed internally and we are now ready to move forward once the COVID-19 situation improves.”

Lee said Donaco had been focusing on attracting local expats since its reopening late last year but said changes have also been made on the gaming floor, specifically to the Star Vegas slot machine business.
https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2021/03 ... os-donaco/
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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22 Mar 2021
Cambodia casino tax revenue falls by more than half in 2020
By Peter Lynch

The amount of tax collected from Cambodia’s 193 licensed casinos fell by more than half in 2020, according to figures from the Cambodian Government.

Tax revenue amounted to US$40m (£28.9m) in 2020, a 53% drop from the US$85m in 2019, primarily due to widespread closures and reduced international visitor arrivals amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Casinos throughout Cambodia were closed on 2 April 2020 under the order of Prime Minister HE, with some able to reopen in August and others in October. A nationwide ban on online gambling operations meanwhile also had a negative impact on tax revenues, with all previous online licences expiring on 1 January 2020.

“As we’re all too well aware, the Covid-19 epidemic began in late 2019 and persists to this day,” said deputy director of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ros Phearun. “It has pulverized all economic sectors, and the casino industry has sustained a crippling blow as well.

“Practically all of our casinos ceased operation in 2020, with only just seven or eight left scrambling to keep their businesses afloat. That’s why our revenue collection has dropped so much.”

Phearun is, however, expecting revenues to rebound in 2021, after the country passed the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling in November.
https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/11 ... lf-in-2020
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

Post by cautious colin »

Revenue only dropped by half when
Practically all of our casinos ceased operation in 2020, with only just seven or eight left scrambling to keep their businesses afloat
Impressive
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

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Listening to a gaming company analyst yesterday. His main interest was Macao and the US operators there, LVS and WYNN. Macao has been hit very hard but he is optimistic for its near term future.

One of his reasons for that is that the Chinese government is encouraging junket operations to go to Macao. They have been going to Cambodia, Philippines and Saopan where taxes are lower so the casinos in those countries can be more generous to the junket operators. And travel to those places has possibly been easier than to Macao. since Covid.

This will be a gradual change but he says to expect the junket operators to be obliged to decrease their use of non-Macao locations.

Interestingly, junket is the least profitable sector of the gaming industry, due to all the freebies that the casinos offer. Premium mass and base mass are the other sectors. Junket in Asia overall is in decline compared to the other sectors so that will be positive for casino profits in Macao.

The big question for the non-Macao casinos is to want extent the Chinese government discourages mass gamers from going to these places.

He is long LVS and WYNN, and also BYD and RRR due to the improving prospects for US regional gaming and sports gaming. He is short DKNG, however.
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Re: Place Your Bets: Cambodia's Casinos to Reopen Soon

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Opened ? Closed.

28 Apr 2021
Casinos in Cambodia face temporary closure
By Violeta Prockyte

Donaco International Limited has announced all casino operations in the Banteay Meanchey province have been temporarily suspended from 27 April 2021 to comply with the order from Cambodian local authorities to temporarily close all casinos in the area.

The company’s casino, Star Vegas (pictured), halted its operations until further notice to prevent the outbreak of Covid-19 following a surge in cases.

The company emphasised that the health and safety of the staff and guests remain the priority, and Donaco will monitor developments and advise the market once there is a further update.

Lockdowns were ordered in Phnom Penh, Ta Khmau city and Preah Sihanouk city, with provincial governor Oum Reatry ordering the lockdown of all casinos in the region.

The suspension of the casino business came after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases from casino players was detected, reported The Star: “The casino business in Banteay Meanchey province is temporarily closed until further notice.”

“Seeing the outbreak, the provincial administration decided to suspend all casinos in Poipet town,” said provincial administration director and spokesman Chhoeun Kraiyong. “We wouldn’t have closed them if it wasn’t related.” The casino where the cases were detected was not named.
https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/11 ... ry-closure
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