Good morning. 

Even as Macau operators are reporting heavy losses for the quarter ending in September, the signs are growing that by October some of them have been hitting the breakeven point, or even a small amount of profitability. For our Face-to-Face feature, Felix caught up with to Adam Steinberg about his experience helping at NagaCorp’s and his thinkings behind decisions made relating to online gaming and Japan. And, TGIF,  Sharon looks at how the ongoing pandemic is keeping ratings agencies on their toes as they seek to assess the impact of the slower-than-expected recovery.

• India continues to face bumps in road to regulated gambling

• India social activists urge online gambling ban in Tamil Nadu

• Gaming startups urge regulation, say government losing revenue

• Deltin casinos reopen with new safety protocols

• Melco reaching breakeven threshold in Macau operations

• Melco Q3 revenue drops 85 percent

• Grand Lisboa Palace ramp up likely to be slow: Union Gaming

• Macau police target individuals for money exchange fraud in casinos

• Wynn Resorts revenues in Q3 fall 77.5%

• Caesars hit with US$926 million net loss in Q3

• TransAct Technologies reports Q3 revenues down 38%

• Jeju Dream Tower receives clearance to open

• Jeju authorities boost capability to monitor casino gaming equipment

• PAGCOR clarifies that so far only Solaire has online gaming approval

• Inquiry recommends Packer ban from being involved in Crown

• Genting outlook cut to negative by Fitch

• Yokohama mayoral recall campaign falling far short

• Konami Holdings gaming revenues down 51.9% in H1

• IPI again misses payroll deadline

• Hoiana gets two tourism awards

India faces bumps in road to regulated gambling

The Madras High Court is the latest to weigh in on online gambling in India, calling on the state government to either ban or regulate the practice after hearing a petition claiming reports of several suicides due to gambling losses. It’s not the first case brought before India’s courts and won’t be the last and highlights the one step forward two steps back nature of the country’s march towards regulated gambling. In response to the petition, the Madras court said it “hopes that appropriate, adequate and immediate measures including bringing a legislation to prohibit or regulate Online Gambling would be taken by the Government."

Melco crosses breakeven threshold in Macau operation

Top executives of Melco Resorts & Entertainment revealed in a conference call on Thursday that their firm’s Macau operations have been reaching the breakeven point from around October. Chief Financial Officer Geoff Davis noted that, contrary to their earlier estimate that they could break even with about 30-35 percent of their usual GGR, “we now expect our Macau operations to achieve breakeven adjusted property EBITDA upon reaching the mid-to-high 20 percent range of our pre-Covid gross gaming revenue levels.”

FACE TO FACE

Reflecting on Cambodia, Online, Japan

Adam Steinberg of AM Steinberg Advisors catches up with Asia Gaming Brief Asia Editor Felix Ng, reflecting on his time spent in Cambodia as an advisor to the chief executive NagaCorp. Steinberg talks about the differences in culture and work ethic between the US and Cambodia, as well as the thinkings behind decisions made relating to online gaming and Japan.
 

TGIF

Fitch compares casino risk as Genting gets cut again

The ongoing pandemic is keeping the ratings agencies on their toes as they seek to assess the impact of the slower-than-expected recovery on the balance sheets of operators which made significant capital commitments back when the future had looked bright. This week it was the Genting Group’s turn once again to feel the sharp end of Fitch Ratings’ pen, with its outlook downgraded to “negative” from “stable.” It’s the second time in a month that Fitch has tweaked its verdict on Genting, having actually cut its long-term issuer default rating to BBB from BBB+ on October 16.