APAC Gaming Industry Set For Massive Changes With New Markets Opening

Summary

• Japan and Thailand are expected to have thriving gaming industries in the coming years
• Australia’s gambling regulations are set to go through significant changes
• Macau’s gambling market witnessing big shift as VIP sector dries up

The gambling industry across the Asian Pacific (APAC) region is set to witness a massive overhaul in the coming year based on research carried out by Spectrum Gaming Group LLC, a firm that specializes in gaming regulations and compliance for the gambling industry.

Spectrum Gaming released a report outlining some interesting changes that the APAC market will go through in 2023 and the next few years.

Thailand Should Have Legalized Gambling Shortly

Thailand is yet to legalize casino gambling in the country but the efforts to pass gambling legalization has made significant progress in 2022. Thailand is looking to bring in a new stream of income by legalizing casino gambling and setting up 5 land based casino resorts across the country.

The current government seems in favour of moving quickly forward with casino legalization as Thailand has suffered significant financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic when tourism dried up for the country. Thailand depends heavily on tourism and believes that the legalization of casino resorts will in turn boost its tourism industry.

The biggest challenge for Thailand will be formulating robust gaming regulations which will likely be on the agenda for 2023.

Will Japan Approve Casino Licenses In 2023?

While Thailand has moved quickly forward with its casino legalization push, Japan has stalled its bid to launch integrated resorts due to a lot of red tape. Japan is yet to confirm which cities will be eligible to have integrated resorts and finalize its casino gambling regulations.

Japan is likely to finalize both the location and potential integrated resort partners by the end of 2023, if things go as per plan. The likelihood of Japan opening out its multi-billion casino resorts will most likely be towards the end of 2030.

Macau VIP Sector Almost Non-Existent

Macau’s casinos which once thrived on its VIP clientele have now been forced to change their business model and focus on mass market gaming as the VIP market and junket operators are now almost non-existent.