Asia is still the industryâs best bet
Mathias Larsson, managing director of XIN Gaming, talks about the growth of slots and live casino on mobile in Asia
The gaming industry in Asia is huge, with the chips stacked higher than anywhere else on the planet. Even after two years of decline in Macau, the Chinese province is still way ahead of Nevada in terms of revenue.
Figures from August show that Macauâs casinos made a year-on-year gain for the first time since June 2014, which is a promising development for anyone who has an interest in the sector. Following more than 20 months of decreasing returns, Macauâs gambling industry still brought in a monthly total of around US$2.4bn (â¬2.1bn) in August, which is more than double the $900m generated in Nevada, the US gambling Mecca.
The size of Macauâs gambling sector is emblematic of Asiaâs love of gaming, with millions travelling from all over the continent to experience the cityâs buzz. Thanks to improvements in technology and raised living standards, that love of gambling is now extending to the mobile and online sector. Players no longer have to jump on a plane to gamble in Macau. Billions of Asians can simply switch on their mobiles to check out slots and live casino games.
Asia is the worldâs number one region for mobile usage and already has around 50% of global mobile phone subscriptions, despite only 32% of Asian citizens owning a phone. This penetration will grow to 49% by 2020, according to GSMA. With around 1.2 billion players, Asia is also the worldâs biggest market for mobile gaming of all types. The potential for gambling among that increasing number of mobile phone users is incredible if we consider that Asia, according to a PwC report, already accounts for almost 50% of the worldâs casino revenues.
Playing catch up
Based on United Nations estimates, there are 4.4 billion people living in Asia, which is approximately 60% of the worldâs total population. Their median age is around 30, which is significantly lower than 37 in the US and 40 in Europe. Asiaâs potential is simply staggering â a vibrant, increasingy wealthy continent, with billions of enthusuastic young people searching for new experiences.
So what do these cool kids want to play? Live casino is still by far the most popular area, but slots are catching up. In fact, as a gambling man, Iâm going to wager that slot games will overtake live casino in terms of total gross gaming revenue within the next three years. Slots already have a much greater growth rate than live casino, and with the offer of a greater margin, more and more operators are focusing on them. The increasing prevalence of mobile is also key in this change, with the fast-paced nature of slots making them a better fit with handheld devices than the slower games on offer via live casino.
Itâs also worth noting that an approach which considers each country separately will pay divdends. Asia is not a single entity, and there are significant cultural and technological differences between its dozens of counties. Just as XIN develops games for each different jurisdiction, from Japan to Malaysia and South Korea, so operators must also be targeted in their appraoch.
While there is no more exciting region for the gambling industry than Asia, success cannot be taken for granted. With lots of players and lots of money comes lots of competition. Asia is different to Europe and different to the US, so operators cannot assume that their success elsewhere will be replicated. Finding a local partner that is strong, established and trustworthy, is paramount. Such companies have years of experience in Asia, from expertise in software and technology to payments and logistics.