Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, described the ethnic Chinese, who drive much of Asia’s wealth, as “congenital gamblers”.
SINGAPORE: Once a month, investment banker Joe and three of his friends drive an hour from Kuala Lumpur to the hilltop resort of Genting for an extended lunch of a different sort — playing roulette. They gamble for four hours and make it back to the Malaysian capital in time for dinner, their wives and employers none the wiser. “It’s fun. Whether in the stock market or in the casino, it’s a punt,” said Joe.
Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, described the ethnic Chinese, who drive much of Asia’s wealth, as “congenital gamblers”. That habit, visible at a cockfight, the mahjong table or the racecourse has now coupled with rising affluence to draw gaming firms like MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts Ltd. who are eager to invest billions of dollars in Asia. “The region is home to the fastest growing casino market,” said Jonathan Galaviz, an analyst at consultancy Globalysis.
Revenues from Asia’s 80 or so licensed casinos are likely to grow 20 per cent to $13 billion, Globalysis said. Illegal casinos rake in an estimated $100 billion. Loren Tepperman, a sociologist, noted that many Chinese start betting when children in family games. Across Asia, opportunities for gambling have proliferated. Millions of tourists pour into casinos in Macau, the only city in China where casinos are legal. Gaming revenues in the former Portuguese enclave have catapulted above those reported by casinos in the Las Vegas Strip.
Chinese gamblers can jump to gambling dens in Vietnam, North Korea and Myanmar. Thai punters head to Cambodia while Singaporeans opt for cruise ships. Lee opposed casinos in the city-state as its prime minister but now backs plans to open two local gaming resorts, rather than see tourism and tax receipts vanish offshore.
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