Casino Culture in Asia

Several Asian countries are easing restrictions on casinos, taking a bet that Las Vegas-style gambling halls will attract more tourists and create jobs.

This week Singapore agreed to build two casino resorts aimed at overseas visitors, ending a 40-year-old ban. With an estimated price tag of $3bn, the two resorts will feature hotels, restaurants, theme parks and other entertainment facilities. Singapore wants to double the number of tourists it receives within 10 years - and sees casinos as the way to achieve this. Other countries in the region, including Thailand, Japan and Indonesia, are considering following suit. The lure of tax revenues and job creation is strong, as well as the promise of luring high-spending tourists.

Governments are taking note of the booming casino industry in Macau, a former Portuguese colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1999. In 2004 Macau's gambling revenues from its 17 casinos topped $5bn, roughly on a par with Las Vegas. The majority of gamblers were from mainland China, where the practice is banned but deeply rooted in local culture. "Macau is trying to set itself up as the Las Vegas of Asia," says Jan McMillen, director of the Center for Gambling Research at the Australian National University.

However, many social and religious groups in Asia remain opposed to casinos and organised gambling on moral and practical grounds. Even in Singapore, where public debate is normally muted, more than 29,000 people signed a petition against allowing casinos. The city-state's former leader Lee Kuan Yew rejected a similar casino plan in 1965. In his memoirs, he revealed that his father had been a compulsive blackjack player who pawned his wife's jewellery. However he has backed the decision by Prime Minister Lee - his son - as an economic necessity for Singapore.

Thailand is among the other countries in the region mulling its options on organised gambling. It currently allows betting only on national lotteries and at racetracks. Government officials have floated the idea of licensing casinos in tourist resorts, and a Malaysian gaming company has already reportedly offered to build a glitzy casino near the holiday island of Phuket. Observers say Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra needs to tread cautiously or risk incurring the wrath of religious leaders. In March 2005 the brewer of Thailand's favourite beer, Chang, was forced to cancel a stock exchange listing after Buddhist monks led thousands of protesters opposed to the move - a similar uproar could follow any easing of the rules on gambling.

Despite the ban on gambling at home, many Thais enjoy a flutter at border casinos in neighbouring Cambodia and Burma. A similar trend is found in Singapore, whose gamblers cross the border to Malaysia's casinos in the Genting Highlands. One country that already has a reputation for being a popular destination for Asian gamblers is Australia. Concerns have also risen over the number of Australian gambling addicts and in recent years casinos have been forced to cut back. According to Ms McMillen, Australia is "...in shutdown mode. It's fascinating to look at the rest of the world and wonder if they've learned from our experience."

Adapted from BBC news, April 2005

chinese translation | japanese translation | korean translation