New World Gaming in Casino pastures new

Away from the new multi-billion Dollar integrated casino resorts being contemplated by the top-tier of massively capitalised casino operating companies, there are fiercely determined entrepreneurs bootstrapping their way into their first casino business. Although the scale of casinos differs, exactly the same development process takes place and it’s a very long and difficult journey from the lobby of the parliament building to the lobby of the casino.


One such entrepreneurial team discovered the Cape Verde Archipelago and their hearts and minds were captured by its people, its culture, its landscapes and its huge potential. They set about developing several hundred holiday homes on Sal, one of the eight inhabited islands, and planning numerous follow-on businesses including a casino resort on the more exclusive island of Sao Vicente. Then came along the credit crunch...

However, undeterred, they secured the rights to Fortim Mindelo, a historic building and site with a commanding view over Mindelo Bay and forged ahead. With New World Gaming as their casino advisors, a detailed market feasibility was undertaken; business plans crafted; license bid tendered and the casino licence for Sao Vicente was won.

Meanwhile the anticipation of a casino resort in Mindelo was a catalyst to spur-on the upgrading of the deep-water harbour in order to boost cruise ship business (up 25% on previous year) and the opening of a new International airport with weekly flights directly from Paris, Amsterdam and Lisbon. The determination and passionate commitment of the two entrepreneurs from Ireland’s County Cork and their local partners is making an astonishing contribution to the transformation of Cape Verde’s tourism economy.

Mindelo is now a new port-of-call for the ARC yacht race and has seen large increases in sports-fishing tourism from the USA, Scandinavia, Europe and Russia. Overall, Cape Verde was voted at the top of the list as the “most wanted” holiday destination for 2014 by British respondents to an online poll.

Further afield, the current economic situation has encouraged governments to look to casino taxes as additional sources of revenue. Enlightened governments will recognise that casinos, like any other business, need to be based on a sound and detailed understanding of the market, need careful planning on capital expenditure and due consideration given to cash flow sensitivities. They will set their expectations of tax levels, structures and timing accordingly. They will also recognise that there are relatively few organisations that have the capital and resources to undertake the scale of IR developments seen in the likes of Singapore and even these massive companies need to prioritise the timing of their developments.

We spoke to David Marshall, Associate Director in New World Gaming, and an expert on European casinos, and he takes a look at the situation in Cyprus. Marshall says: “Whilst the currently preferred option is to have a single, large global-brand, IR could provide the country with a unique offering in the region, until of course the next global branded IR opens in the region.

“Cyprus already has excellent large resorts which need only the addition of the casino element to turn them into IRs; integrated resorts which are uniquely and proudly Cypriot in character. Distribution can be optimised by issuing several licenses providing choice for visitors and the competitive forces necessary to maintain standards of service and product appeal that serve to differentiate Cyprus as a preferred casino destination. It remains to be seen if a suitable global-brand IR operator will come to the table and if so, what the offer will be. War and poor economic performance in the region; the bank account “haircut” executed by government last year... It’s difficult to imagine that global corporate companies with their institutional investors would have the risk appetite for Cyprus. Is it not a job for the Cypriot entrepreneurs who developed successful resorts without the benefit of a casino in the first place?”

David Marshall’s recent joining of New World Gaming and Associates fulfils its goal to provide clients with the services and level of expertise of a blue-chip corporate “Head Office,” as a shared service. Please see David’s bio and more information on New World Gaming at www.newworld-gaming.com. Email enquiries@newworld-gaming.com to find out about investment opportunities in the Mindelo casino and other such opportunities.

Original article in Casino International - online

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Japan casino licensing update

Japan closer to legalizing casinos

According to the latest news reports, Japan is slowly moving closer to legalizing casinos, attached is a report by Takashi Mochizuki from the Wall Street Journal describing progress made to date and expert opinions.

TOKYO—Japan is set to take a long-awaited step toward legalizing casino gambling, kicking off a multiyear process to establish integrated resorts that proponents say will provide a strong boost to the government's growth plans.

Lawmakers are expected within days to submit a bill requiring that the government craft legislation and set the stage for approving casino-resorts. The bipartisan bill, which is backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is likely to pass parliament next year.

Proponents hope Japan will start licensing casinos in 2016. Analysts say the schedule should allow Japan to have at least one casino in operation before Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Lawmakers say there likely will be a few resorts at first, with further approvals coming gradually. They say the model will be closer to Singapore's than to that of Las Vegas.

Gambling already is popular in Japan. People spend large sums to bet on horse races, bicycle races, motorboat races, lotteries and pachinko, a game that is similar to pinball. Such games account for ¥19 trillion ($185 billion) in wagers annually, roughly 30% of leisure spending in Japan last year, according to the Japan Productivity Center consulting firm.

The idea to bring casinos to Japan was first floated in 2002, with global casino operators and domestic conglomerates mounting lobbying campaigns. But with most governments lasting for no more than a year, the issue never got to the front of the legislative agenda.

With current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely to remain in power for years because of his strong approval ratings, advocates are betting that now is the best chance to push through the legislation.

Prospects for passage appear good. The bipartisan group backing the legislation totals 171 in the two houses of parliament, more than one-fifth of all 722 Diet members. The group includes political heavyweights, including Mr. Abe, Finance Minister Taro Aso and Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura. Opposition-party figures, including members of the Democratic Party of Japan and Your Party, also have expressed support.

"We've finally drawn the attention of top-level politicians," said Osaka University of Commerce Professor Toru Mihara, who was involved in drafting the legislation. "Casinos, if successful, will be a true flagship feature of Abenomics."

Analysts who favor casinos say they will stimulate economic growth. The government aims to increase the number of annual foreign tourists in Japan to 30 million in 2030 from 8.4 million last year and to raise foreign direct investments to ¥35 trillion by 2020 from ¥17.8 trillion last year.

"We estimate that Japan could generate gross gaming revenue of $13.4 billion to $15 billion, which would make it the second-largest gaming jurisdiction in Asia, after Macau,"Citigroup analyst Anil Daswani said in a September report.

Casino operators are ready. Wynn Resorts Ltd. is considering plans that could cost it more than $4 billion.

George Tanasijevich, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore, has mock-ups on what a possible resort in Tokyo might look like. "We're very excited. We believe this is the biggest opportunity in our industry right now," Mr. Tanasijevich said Friday.

A challenge for the industry is to build public support. Mizuho Bank said the government should take an evenhanded approach, discussing the potential negative aspects of allowing gambling as well as the positives.

Prof. Mihara said the government must explain clearly how it will cope with the potential problems of casinos, such as corruption, gambling addiction and organized crime.

Some analysts said the governments and operators shouldn't focus just on casinos when planning integrated resorts, in part because casino-resorts will have to compete with rivals in Singapore, South Korea and Macau.

Governments from metropolises such as Tokyo as well as rural areas such as Okinawa hope to use casinos as one element of a broader strategy to increase tourism visitors, international meetings and conventions.

"We want to have a complex of casinos, hotels and convention centers that all sorts of visitors can use as a base when traveling around nearby areas such as Kyoto, Nara and Kobe," said Kazuhiro Nose, Osaka's tourism chief.

Read original article here


Jake Waller
Director at New World Gaming
New World Gaming