Asia Outlook

Casinos and Online Gambling

2018
CONTENTS SOUTH KOREA
MACAU
This report looks at upcoming land-based Integrated resort development
Uncertainty surrounding the
casino and online gambling developments CHINA continues in Jeju Island and Incheon
issuance of the next wave despite the ongoing ban on Chinese
in various jurisdictions across Asia and the Online sales of the of casino concessions. tour groups travelling to South Korea.
state Sports and
Pacific Islands. Welfare Lotteries
remain banned, JAPAN
awaiting further Problem gambling
regulation. and IR implementation
legislation are
NEPAL expected to emerge by
In Focus: Philippines 3 mid-2018.
Cross-border
In Focus: Macau 5 expansion of Nepal- TAIWAN
In Focus: Japan 7 licensed casinos into No land-based casino
northern India.
Cambodia9 prospects expected in
2018.
China9 PHILIPPINES
INDIA
India10 Since the election of President
Potential national reform
Laos/Myanmar/Thailand11 of sports betting. Rodrigo Duterte in mid-2016, gaming
markets and their regulations are
Malaysia  11
undergoing profound change.
Nepal12 LAOS/MYANMAR/
THAILAND MALAYSIA
Pacific Islands 12
Potential momentum for Recent enforcement
Singapore13
casino legalisation in Myanmar. measures suggest
South Korea 13 a tougher stance
Taiwan14 SINGAPORE against online
VIETNAM gambling in 2018. 
Vietnam14 Continued enforcement CAMBODIA The first casino to allow
against illegal online
Casino licences continue to local entry is expected to
gambling services expected.
Authors: Catherine Qu, Martin Williams, Delphine be issued with an expected open in Spring 2018.
Chen, Andrew Gellatly, Benjamin Reedman increase in Chinese
gamblers and investors.

Editors: Hannah Frost, Louise Coleman

The information contained within this report is

current as of February 26, 2018.
ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 | GAMBLINGCOMPLIANCE.COM 2
IN FOCUS: 2018 Outlook

||Philippines
Philippine gaming markets and regulation are undergoing profound
change as the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte continues to shake up the
relationship between government and the gaming industry. On becoming
president, Duterte cryptically announced an end to “online gambling”, but
Regulatory status of casinos: the significance of the less reported part of his speech – a complaint about
PAGCOR is the entity which the online sector’s small tax contribution – has become much clearer in
licenses casinos in the the 20 months since. National gaming regulator PAGCOR’s newly obtained
Philippines, as well as operating oversight of the bulk of the foreign-facing online gambling segment has
casinos directly. Three Philippine delivered it a regular and expanding source of revenue to replace the
economic zones and freeports proceeds from soon-to-be-divested, land-based casino operations around
can also license tourism-related the country.
activities such as casinos —
these are: the Cagayan Economic But in doing so, the long-standing criticism of PAGCOR’s dual role of casino

Zone Authority; the Aurora Pacific operator and regulator can now apply to its role of online regulator and

Economic Zone and Freeport collector of online gaming fees for the Office of the President. The year

Authority; and the Authority of 2018 will reveal how PAGCOR intends to develop its financial profile and

the Freeport Area of Bataan. meet Presidential Office demands for revenue despite a cap on online
licence numbers, and whether it can simultaneously provide the regulatory
Status of online gambling: heft for online operations that critics found sorely lacking in economic
Offshore-facing online gambling zone online regulator First Cagayan. In this regard, a new operator auditing
is regulated. system due this year is central to PAGCOR’s regulatory credibility. On the
risk side, the question is still open as to whether PAGCOR will be any more
transparent than First Cagayan in regulatory terms, whether PAGCOR
will accommodate operators targeting Chinese customers and whether
Duterte’s embrace of Beijing will restrain law enforcement efforts to stamp
out illegal activity linked to the Philippines.

Question marks still hang over the tax burden of online operators,
however, with a Bureau of Internal Revenue claim for a 5 percent franchise
tax independent of PAGCOR’s fee structure yet to be confirmed.

First Cagayan itself has retreated to its economic zone in the far north of
the Philippines with several dozen online licensees in the hope that new
on-the-ground infrastructure and investment can salvage something of the
company’s former key role in the online segment. Millions of dollars are
being spent to boost Cagayan Province’s international appeal and to retain
its appeal as a hub for online licensees; this year will offer milestones and
pitfalls for gauging how successful this will be. The performance of a touted
cryptocurrency option in Cagayan will be one of them.

The net loss of licensee numbers following the PAGCOR takeover of

regulatory territory in Manila also reflects the increasing expense of setting
up shop in Makati, the traditional base for online gaming studio operators
and support services. Operators and allied businesses unwilling to sign up

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 3

with PAGCOR, or those who missed out because of PAGCOR’s licence cap, have migrated various operations to
Cambodia and even Taiwan, or else moved underground, trends that should crystallise this year as their business
models in these countries are put to the test.

The Philippine land-based casino market continues to grow significantly, thanks in part to warming ties between
the Philippines and China. Major casino operators at Entertainment City in Manila have also been among the least
affected by regulatory volatility, other than changes to anti-money laundering protocols and the need to improve
security in the wake of the Resorts World Manila tragedy and a stubborn Islamic State-linked insurgency that took
over the city of Marawi in southern Mindanao.

Of potentially more concern for the four casinos in Entertainment City is the expansion of integrated resort-style
facilities in other parts of the Philippines. A recent moratorium on new casino licences served only to underline the
rush by a series of major Philippine and foreign companies to invest in confirmed or potential higher-tier properties
in Manila, Cebu, Clark Freeport, Boracay and elsewhere. The more protectionist sentiment toward Entertainment
City licensees (three of four have significant foreign investment) in previous administrations appears to have given
way to a more market-driven model favouring mostly Philippine moguls. The divestment of PAGCOR-operated
casinos – and who will next operate them – is a lesser issue, given that most of the casinos are small and that the
properties containing them are of lesser quality.

Duterte’s volatile influence on gaming regulation has also affected the Philippines’ domestic markets for e-games,
e-bingo and lotteries, although these segments are likely to stabilise this year as PAGCOR tightens control of
e-games and e-bingo shops and as new management at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office addresses
board tensions and accounts for criminal infiltration of Small Town Lottery networks.

PLAYTECH: REVENUE FROM PHILIPPINES LICENSEES (€ M ) - 2012 TO 2017

Revenue Revenue from Philippines licensees Share

of total
(€m) (%)
Philippine licensee revenue as a percentage of total gaming revenue
300 50

270 45

240 40

210 35

180 30

150 25

120 20

90 15

60 10

30 5

0 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 0

Sources: Company data

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 4

IN FOCUS: 2018 Outlook

||Macau
Uncertainty surrounding the next wave of casino concessions is likely to be
the dominant talking point this year for the world’s biggest casino market.
Previous years have focused on a damaging market contraction engineered
by Macau and Beijing officials and the market’s recovery, the shrinking and
Regulatory status of casinos: consolidation of the junket segment, uneven labour relations, the cap on
Regulated with a licensing growth of gaming table inventory and the form and impact of a gaming
system. area smoking ban, for example.

Status of online gambling: But overshadowing all of this today is the silence of the Macau
Online gambling can be government, two years out, on how it will launch a new casino concession
understood under the definition tender, how many concessions will be allowed and how gaming law will be
of interactive games (Article amended – including any changes to an already lucrative tax rate of around
2(4), Law no. 16/2001). It would 40 percent.
be necessary, therefore,
for an operator to obtain a Instead, the government’s interim response has been to move from a mid-

concession to offer this type of term review coordinated by academic Davis Fong to a new dual university

game in Macau. However, the review supervised by Professor Fong in his new capacity as lawmaker.
government has not approved Those results will be released in a few months, but it is unclear what, if any,
licensing procedures, and no impact they will have on either government policy or its timetable for a

specific regulation has been transition to the next era. This assumes that Chief Executive Fernando Chui
issued in relation to online will not leave the problem to his successor by extending the terms of the
gambling. current crop of licences, as the law allows.

Also hanging over the concession tender or extension process is the

role of Beijing. Chinese government officials have avoided comment on
gaming policy matters that are the de jure territory of the Macau executive.

MACAU: ANNUAL GAMING REVENUES (MOP BN ) - 2006 TO 2017

Total YoY
GGR YoY growth growth
sales
(MOPbn)
400 +75%

350 +60%

300 +45%

250 +30%

200 +15%

150 0

100 -15%

50 -30%

0 ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 -45%

Sources: Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 5

However, political developments SELECTED JURISDICTIONS: VIP BACCARAT REVENUE (CNY BN ) -
in mainland China such as the 2014 TO 2017

growing power of President Xi VIP GGR (CNYbn)

20 250
Jinping, Liaison Office changes in
Hong Kong and Macau, retreating
16 200
scrutiny of Macau’s opaque gaming
regulator by the media, crackdowns
12 150
on visas, ATMs and UnionPay
cash card use, and incidental 8 100
evidence of junket networking and
heightened compliance together 4 50

point to Beijing tightening its grip on

Macau’s governance of the sector. 0 Y/E June ‘14 Y/E June ‘15 Y/E June ‘16 Y/E June ‘17 0

Singapore Philippines * Macau data corresponds

The Macau government’s strategy to 2nd Y-axis and excludes
Macau Saipan premium mass
for casinos remains firmly Las Vegas ** Revenue adjusted using
embedded within a policy of Oceania constant exchange rates from
30/06/2017
non-gaming diversification and
the development of Macau as Sources: GCRS estimates, company data, Macau DICJ, Nevada Gambling Control Board,
PAGCOR
an international hub for tourism
and leisure. But the inability of
the government to consistently qualify and quantify these criteria means that operators cannot base concession
retention strategies on openly available information. Equally, the government has yet to offer meaningful detail
on what will happen to operators that lose their licences, a scenario made more complex by land concessions that
extend well beyond the expiry dates of gaming concessions.

Frustration over this state of affairs has already publicly spilled over among “satellite casino” operators, which is
potentially the most vulnerable group given the long-overlooked legal limbo in which they operate. This frustration
is likely to appear more often this year as operators seek assurances that they remain in the hunt. More generally,
operators will likely attempt to expand private communications with officials to make sense of what is coming,
even as the probability of Beijing influencing, vetting or simply selecting the next group of concessionaires grows.

2018 is also likely to see the opening of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, which operators are hoping will
boost parts of their business, particularly MICE revenue, as Macau becomes a more easily accessible alternative
for passengers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport. However, the limitations of the bridge – such as access
and volume restrictions – will become clearer as opening day nears. Certainly, the impact of the bridge on gaming
revenue will likely turn out to be negligible compared with ramping mainland Chinese business at Cotai’s three
newest integrated resorts – MGM Cotai, The Parisian and Wynn Palace.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 6

IN FOCUS: 2018 Outlook

||Japan
After decades of prohibition, casinos are close to becoming regulated in
the world’s third largest economy, spurred by the perceived tourism and
job creation benefits of integrated resorts. But with Japanese casinos set to
be among the most profitable globally, concerns remain about how best to
Regulatory status of casinos: ensure responsible gambling among the wealthy domestic population, and
In a pre-regulatory phase Japan’s casino regulations are likely to be some of the world’s strictest.
pending the passage of the
second of two casino bills. Recognition of the extent of gambling addiction in Japan has intensified
following the passage of enabling legislation for integrated resorts in
Status of online gambling: December 2016 and attention is now firmly focused on the progress of the
The organisation of online implementation bill, one of two pieces of key legislation that need to pass
gambling may be punished if before the casino projects can progress and requests for concept (RFCs)
the elements of Articles 186(2) can begin.
or 187 of the Penal Code of Japan
are established, and deemed The second, a member’s bill, known as the “gambling addiction

to be committed within Japan. countermeasures bill”, lays out responsible gambling requirements for

According to a government future casino operators. Due to political pressures, it is likely that the law
response to questions posed concerning problem gambling countermeasures will need to be agreed
by a member of parliament on and passed before the IR implementation bill can be considered.

the matter in 2014, this will be

Still, the pro-IR prime minister, Shinzo Abe, intends to prioritise the bills
determined on a “case by case
during the current Diet session, which will end on June 20, 2018.
basis” based on the evidence
collected by the investigating In recent weeks, details of the upcoming legislation have emerged, few of
authorities. them good news for would-be operators.

The IR enabling bill (December The bill will place a cap on the number of casino licences and locations –
2016) calls for a review of perhaps just three or four sites, with Yokohama, Osaka and Tomakomai, in
progress after five years, at Hokkaido, currently believed to be the front-running candidates.
which point the restricted status
of online gambling may be As part of its efforts to limit problem gambling by Japanese citizens, the
reconsidered. government is proposing to limit casino visits by local residents to a
maximum of three a week, or ten a month. Japanese nationals may also
Publicly administered pari- be required to register for casino entry using their “My Number” card – a
mutuel betting is offered online new ID system linked to tax and social security which has so far only been
and the Japanese government issued to about 10 percent of the population.
has promised to make most
lottery products available for Borrowing from the example of Singapore, Japanese nationals and resident
online sale by October 2018. foreign nationals will pay a casino entry fee, currently recommended at
¥2,000 per person.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 7

There will be bans on ATMs on the casino floor and the use of credit cards to buy gaming chips. VIP junkets will
likely be banned or tightly controlled, and the bill is expected to introduce the controversial idea of third-party
exclusion by relatives and family members.

For would-be operators, there will also be limitations on casino floor space, with gambling areas to be restricted
to 3 percent or less of the total resort, up to a maximum of 15,000 square metres – approximately the size of the
Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas or the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Two plans have so far been put forward for the casino tax, both relatively harsh by Asian casino-resort standards.

(1) Flat 30 percent tax on GGR

(2) Progressive tax

• Tax on GGR up to ¥150bn: 30 percent

• Tax on GGR of ¥150bn to ¥300bn: 40 percent
• Tax on GGR in excess of ¥300bn: 50 percent

These revenues will be used for the public benefit, including the implementation of gambling addiction
countermeasures, and casino excise tax revenue will be split equally between the national and local government
where the IR is situated.

The IR implementation bill will also set out stringent requirements for would-be casino operators to pay for their
own background checks. The aim is to deter any unqualified applicants, including front companies for criminal
gangs, from acquiring a licence.

Still, the rewards for success are considerable, with forecasts valuing the market at anywhere between $15bn and
$30bn in annual revenues following a regional rollout of casino locations.

JAPAN VS SELECTED OTHERS: VISITATION FROM MAINLAND CHINA (M)

Visitor arrivals from China (m)
9 South Korea
Japan
8 Singapore
Malaysia
7 Philippines

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Sources: National tourism boards

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 8

||Cambodia 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: Chinese investment in Sihanoukville has increased and both countries
Regulated with a licensing agreed to strengthen their economic bonds for the upcoming years. In
system. NagaCorp holds a 2017, 79 casino licences were issued, predominantly to Chinese investors.
monopoly within a 200km radius Currently, access to casinos is restricted to foreigners and, although
of Phnom Penh until 2035. previously considered, no new measures have been adopted to allow local
players to gamble in casinos.
Status of online gambling:
Prohibited. However, an online As for online gambling, since 2015, the government has been granting
casino licence may be granted to online licences to operators licensed to run land-based casinos in exchange
those licensed to operate land- for a payment of $10,000 a year. As such, Asia Live Tech, an operator
based casinos. currently licensed for land-based casinos, operates an online casino
platform accepting payments in cryptocurrencies.

||China 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: The Welfare Lottery and Sports Lottery both performed well in 2017,

Prohibited. although the Sports Lottery is set to outpace the traditionally dominant
Welfare Lottery in 2018. In 2017, overall lottery revenue increased by 8.1
Status of online gambling: percent, although sports betting generated the highest growth by segment,
Prohibited. with an increase of 21.4 percent. Sports betting activity is expected to surge
even higher with the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The sale of online lottery products remains banned, awaiting the

implementation of an online platform to coordinate and monitor online
lottery sales nationwide. However, there are growing concerns that this ban
is driving online sales to illegal markets, which have now also been voiced
in official Chinese media.
CHINA LOTTERY SALES BY SEGMENT (¥ BN ) - 2008 TO 2017
On February 2, Bloomberg reported
Sports Lottery Welfare Lottery
Lottery sales (¥bn)
that Chinese government agencies
250 were considering allowing online
gaming, a lottery or sports betting
200
and eventually a casino in the
province of Hainan, although no
150
sources or details were provided.

100

50

0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Sources: China Ministry of Finance

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 9

||India 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: The vastness of its market and a powerful interest in cricket betting have
Regulated with a licensing long flagged India as a future giant among gaming jurisdictions. But
system only in Goa and Sikkim legislative reticence, social opposition and enthusiastic enforcement
states and the union territory of activity continue to hamper momentum for change, producing a situation in
Daman and Diu. which industry has sought an ally in the more secular court environment to
trigger reform, in part thanks to constitutional protection for skilled gaming.
Status of online gambling:
Online skilled/casino gaming Hopes for national reform on the sports betting front – the most likely
is only legal in Sikkim and segment to liberalise in the near future – are now placed in a Law
Nagaland states, where it is Commission study being compiled by Justice BS Chauhan. However, even
regulated with a licensing this reformist document is, at last report, looking to mitigate the social
system. damage of massive illegal betting activity by proposing a highly restrictive
regulatory scheme.

In the meantime, the push for the liberalisation of skilled gaming with
stakes will continue to be an ad-hoc affair, with rummy clubs and poker
tournaments leading the way and challenging police raids and indifferent
legislatures across many of India’s 36 states and union territories.

Some state governments and legislatures, most recently Telangana, are

taking a direct oppositional role by banning online gambling altogether,
despite Supreme Court backing for skilled games. However, until such
disputes prompt a decisive and up-to-date Supreme Court ruling, 2018 is
likely to remain a patchwork of setbacks and cautious progress for state-
based gaming interests.

Online poker and rummy continue to flourish separately even without an

explicit legal mandate, but remain vulnerable to scrutiny over payment
processing, foreign direct investment and technological input, and point of
consumption legality.

Lastly, land-based casinos remain restricted to the peripheral jurisdictions

of Goa and Sikkim, with Sikkim and Nagaland also allowing online gaming,
although Goa’s fellow former Portuguese territory Daman and Diu may see
a casino open at Delta Corp’s Deltin resort in the near future. While Goa’s
government has pledged to shut down the state’s famed floating casinos,
there is now a government-backed proposition to relocate all casino
gaming to an entertainment zone abutting Goa’s second international
airport now under construction, potentially creating a cluster effect akin to
Las Vegas and Macau.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 10

||Laos/ 2018 Outlook
||Myanmar
||Thailand On January 30, 2018, the US Treasury Department published a statement
alleging that the Kings Romans casino in Laos is one of the “primary
entities” through which the “Zhao Wei Transnational Criminal Organization”
Regulatory status of casinos: network operates. The Zhao Wei network is allegedly linked to narcotics
Casinos are generally prohibited trade, wildlife abuse, human trafficking, money laundering and other
in all three countries. However, criminal activities. The US Treasury Department has blacklisted and
in 2007 the Laos government frozen the assets of Zhao Wei, the casino’s co-owner, and another three
granted Kings Romans Group individuals and three entities alleged to be involved in the network.
a 99-year lease, which includes
the permission to develop and In Myanmar, on February 9, 2018, Ohn Maung, hotels and tourism minister,

operate casinos in the Golden announced that the government would consider allowing casinos in

Triangle Specific Economic island resorts once the current gambling law is revised, though no specific

Zone (GT SEZ) of Laos, located timeframe was provided. Despite this momentum, it is worth noting that

between Thailand and Myanmar. past attempts to legalise casinos in mainstream tourist areas had failed.

Status of online gambling:

Online gambling is prohibited.

||Malaysia 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: Strengthened enforcement actions in late 2017 suggest that tighter control
Regulated with a licensing of illegal online gambling could be expected in 2018. In October 2017, it
system. Currently, only one was reported that deputy prime minister and home minister Ahmad Zaid
casino licence has been granted. Hamidi stated to local press that the government has been discussing
There is a complete ban on either amending the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 or introducing new
gambling for the Muslim gambling legislation, to more effectively target illegal online gambling.
population. In November 2017, Playtech issued a serious profit warning citing its
Malaysian business as the main reason. Sources within the local gambling
Status of online gambling: industry have stated that the profit warning is a result of the shut-down of
Prohibited by the general the 200 or so electronic game parlours in Malaysia. These parlours host
prohibition of gambling about 25 to 50 gaming machines each, totalling between 5,000 and 10,000
under the Common Gaming machines.
Houses Act 1953. Some have
interpreted online gambling
to fall outside of the gambling
offences established under the
act. However, in practice the
government has persistently
cracked down on local online
gambling.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 11

||Nepal 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: ASX-listed Silver Heritage Group commenced gaming operations at its
Regulated with a licensing Nepal-licensed casino in Tiger Palace Resort on December 28, 2017. The
system. resort opened despite a troubled history, with the latest complication in
February 2018 resulting in the termination of a consultancy agreement
Status of online gambling: with a local partner that had accused the company earlier of hiring illegal
Prohibited. foreign workers. The integrated resort is located on the border of Nepal
and India, near the state of Uttar Pradesh, and primarily targets visitors
from India, as well as Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar and Sri
Lanka. The Silver Heritage venture will test the prospects of cross-border
expansion from Nepal into populous regions where casino legalisation is
unlikely, particularly the northern states of India.

||Pacific Islands 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: Until a high-VIP-volume casino operation emerged in Saipan, the main
Varied. island of the US-controlled Northern Marianas, the tiny island nations
of the Pacific rarely featured on the radar of analysts or industry experts.
Status of online gambling: Imperial Pacific’s operation in Saipan has changed that, and 2018 will go
Varied. some way toward determining whether the casino and unfinished hotel
will be sustainable and successful, or a liability to the long-term economic
and social welfare of its island hosts. There have been controversies
over unpaid and mistreated Chinese labour, delays to construction
and international media accusations of graft and compliance failure.
Furthermore, the mostly Chinese-facing operation has already been
indirectly probed by the FBI and is likely to be closely watched by US
federal agencies.

Saipan’s experience reflects the volatility and limitations of sparse gaming

jurisdictions in the region. Vanuatu, which is on a Financial Action Task Force
watchlist, established a highly opaque online gaming hub most known for
hosting Hong Kong-listed Amax International, which is controlled by former
triad boss Ng Man Sun. Samoa has explored similar territory. Meanwhile,
Fiji has rebooted an attempt to open a casino after a failed deal with a US
Indian tribe. Aside from Saipan, all indicators are that the island nations will
remain on the periphery and attract only limited and grey market interest.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 12

||Singapore 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: The current duopoly casino licences held by Marina Bay Sands and Resorts
Regulated with a licensing World Sentosa were both renewed in 2016, and are set to expire in 2019.
system. The Casino Control Act
provides that only two casino Online gambling in Singapore is all but restricted to two closely monitored,

licences can be in effect at any government-controlled monopolies – Singapore Pools and the Singapore

given time. Turf Club – and problem gambling considerations are likely to keep growth
of this segment in check. There have been strengthened enforcement
Status of online gambling: measures against illegal operations by local police. On January 29, 2018,
Prohibited. It is possible to a police news release announced that police had arrested four individuals
apply for exemptions, granted for the offence of gambling in public. A further 18 individuals were arrested
under strict criteria, from the for gambling-related offences on February 12, 2018. According to the media
Ministry of Home Affairs under reports, the police will continue to take tougher enforcement measures and
the Remote Gambling Act “spare no effort to clamp down on” illegal gambling and related criminal
2014. However, to date, the activities. Continued enforcement action against illegal online gambling
ministry has only approved the services can be expected in 2018.
applications of Singapore Pools
and Singapore Turf Club.

||South Korea 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: The development of integrated resorts (IRs) on Jeju Island and in Incheon
Regulated with a licensing will continue during 2018. Landing International’s foreigner-only casino
system. at Jeju Shinhwa World opened on February 25. In Incheon, Paradise Co.
opened the first IR in the area in April 2017, whereas Mohegan Sun Group
Status of online gambling: is planning to start construction of an multi-billion dollar IR at Incheon
Regulated only for state-run International Airport this year. In October 2017, Caesars International
betting services and a monopoly announced its plans to begin construction on an IR in Incheon during 2020,
lottery operator. having received preliminary governmental approval.

Meanwhile, the gambling and tourism industries continue to suffer as

the Chinese government remains firm on its ban on Chinese tour groups
travelling to South Korea. The ban was enforced in March 2017 due to
political tensions. Indications that the restrictions would be eased in
November 2017 were reversed in December, suggesting the full ban
remains in force.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 13

||Taiwan 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: A referendum to vote on casino development on the offshore island of

Prohibited generally. The Kinmen was rejected by an overwhelming majority of the population in

Offshore Islands Development October 2017. This vote confirms the unlikelihood of casino development

Act allows casinos located in in Taiwan in the next few years, particularly as the government has

offshore territories of Taiwan abandoned casino control legislation amid negligible operator interest and

provided there is a majority vote public indifference, and this is likely to remain the case until at least the

for approval. opening of Japan’s IRs.

Status of online gambling:

Online gambling is only
authorised through Taiwan
Sports Lottery, which is
responsible for the organisation
of sports betting and lottery
games.

||Vietnam 2018 Outlook

Regulatory status of casinos: New casino regulations adopted through Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP came

Regulated with a licensing into force from March 15, 2017. According to this decree, local residents

system. are authorised to gamble in casinos for a three-year trial period from the
date the first casino operator successfully obtains its licence under the
Status of online gambling: new decree. Since the decree has been in force, two operators have been
Prohibited. granted licences to open casinos: one in Phu Quoc, which is expected to
open in Spring 2018; and one in Quang Ninh, although no official opening
date has been provided to date.

Casinos will be subject to greater scrutiny, as a ministry circular on tax

revenue collection was signed into effect in December 2017. These
regulations will allow the regional tax authority to directly monitor the
activities of casino floors through video surveillance and data reporting
processes.

ASIA OUTLOOK: CASINOS AND ONLINE GAMBLING 2018 14

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