Beyond Macau: Asian neighbors punt on a slice of gaming pie

Macau’s neighbors are playing their cards right as the world’s largest gambling hub looks to diversify its entertainment offerings.

The Chinese territory’s economy has been highly reliant on gambling, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Macau’s annual revenues—that is until mainland Chinese authorities announced a crackdown on corruption, causing the city state’s revenues to plummet to five-year lows.

Now, China’s Sin City is recovering and working hard to become the tourism and leisure destination that Beijing wants it to become, which begs the question: where will its gamblers go?

“The gambling appetite in Asia is still humongous,” said Praveen Choudhary, managing director of Morgan Stanley, during the recently held Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia conference in Macau.